Water conservation

Nature has gifted us some precious and valuable resources and water is one of them and is our basic need. All living beings need water for their survival and to carry out their survival and to carry out their vital life processes. Our Planet, Earth, has three –fourths of its surface area covered with water and only one- fourth has land masses. Life originates in water. Even today, millions of year later, water continues to be an essential requirement of life.

Sources of Water

Amongst most of the water, 97% is found in oceans and seas. The remaining, about 3% is found in rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, etc. Air also contains water.

Importance of Water

All plants, animals and human beings need water to stay alive. But human beings depend on water more than plants and animals. We need water for many other purposes such as: 

• We need water for the day -to- day activities such as bathing, cleaning, drinking, washing, etc.
• Water helps in the dispersal of seeds and fruits.
• It helps needed for irrigation.
• All industries use a large amount of water for cleaning, heating, cooling, generating electricity, as a raw material, etc.
• Water is used for transport and recreation too.

Water has properties of fluidity and solubility. These properties make it useful in the process of digestion, blood circulation and excretion. Water also helps in regulation of our body temperature by the process of sweating.

Scarcity of Water

Now the world is heading towards water crises due to the excessive and uneconomical use of water by the large human population. Human beings waste tons of water while brushing teeth, bathing, washing clothes, vehicles, and utensils etc. Overuse of water has led to a decrease in the supply of water available for human use.

Polluting water, deforestation and overpopulation have also disturbed the water cycle which, in turn, the annual rainfall varies in different parts of our country. If efforts are not made for managing and saving water, we are going to have an acute water crisis.

Conservation of Water

Conservation of water means a careful and economical use of water. We should conserve water as it is a precious natural resource. Conservation of water can happen in the following ways:

• Aforestation can help water to penetrate into the soil and replenish the water table
• Use of efficient watering systems such as drip irrigation and sprinklers to reduce water consumption by plants and help in conservation of water.
• Building Dams and hydropower projects which help in checking flood and regulating the supply of water to agriculture.
• Irrigation hours and frequency can be reduced.
• Treatment of industrial and domestic wastewater in sewage plants before its disposal in water bodies help in conservation of water. It reduces the water pollution.
• Rainwater harvesting: In this system, the rainwater is collected by allowing it to flow from the rooftop through pipes in a storage tank. This water may contain some soil particles from the roof. So it should be filtered before use.

It is allowed to flow into a pit in the ground to recharge or refill the groundwater. Besides these, we should take the following steps for avoiding wastage of water at home:

• While taking water for drinking, we should take only just enough to quench our thirst.
• We should make economical use of water while taking a bath or washing clothes.
• The tap should be turned off immediately after the water is used.
• Inform the civic authorities on finding any water leak in public place.

Remember that the need of the hour is that every individual uses water economically and judiciously. We should celebrate 22 March as World Water Day every year. It will remind us of the importance of this wonder of liquid called water.