Explore some of the most frequently asked questions on ways to save water.
We've gathered some of the most frequently asked questions that can be of help to you as you discover ways to save water and money.
If the entire world’s water were fit into a 4 litre jug, the fresh water available for us would equal only about one tablespoon. For more resources see: www.waterwise.org.uk
We have drinking water, Groundwater, Lakes, Oceans, Coasts, Estuaries and Beaches. For more resources see: water.epa.gov
Reuse-Recycle-Reclaim: A practice that extends our limited, finite water resources is, without question, a practice that should be encouraged. Reusing, recycling, and reclaiming water preserves our water resources - our drinking water supplies. The less we use now, the more we will have available in the future. Think of it as a savings account. We all know savings are beneficial and essential for our future well-being. For more resources see: www.myescambia.com
Here are a few simple ideas : In the Kitchen: you can buy bottled water and store it. In the Bathroom: Don't leave the water running when shaving or brushing your teeth. Fill a cup with water for brushing teeth. Stop up for brushing teeth. Stop up the basin and fill with water for shaving. Outdoors: Don't over-water your lawn. Lawns only need to be watered every five to seven days in the summer, and every 10 to 14 days in the winter. A heavy rain eliminates the need for watering for up to two weeks For more resources see: www.dosomething.org
Top 10 Benefits of Drinking Water: Don't Medicate Hydrate.
Here are 6 steps to save water in the Kitchen:
Here are 5 reasons:
Here are 10 Inspiring Ideas to a Water-Smart Yard:
Do not open the faucet all the way; open it only as much as needed. Regulating the water coming into the house is the best way to control your usage. ( If you already have a weak water flow at your house, you have even more reason to watch your usage!) - Instead of taking a bath, take showers which use 10 times less water (this saves up to 20,000 liters of water a year).
There's an infographic going around lately that claims to show the relative amounts of water used by four different sources of electrical power: coal, nuclear, natural gas and solar. The graphic claims that solar comes out the clear winner in terms of water conservation, using no water at all to generate power. But is the claim correct? Not quite. The graphic, produced by the "Climate Reality Project," is making the rounds of social media. It's pretty straightforward, at first glance. Coal-fired power plants use up 1,100 gallons of water for each megawatt-hour of power produced. (A megawatt-hour is about what a typical California household would consume in six or seven weeks.) Nuclear and natural-gas-fired power plants use water 800 and 300 gallons for the same amount of power, respectively. And solar, according to the Climate Reality Project, is the least water-wasteful of all four sources of energy, at zero gallons of water per megawatt-hour. On Facebook, the graphic's creators share the news breathlessly, saying "Whoa - you probably know that solar power plants produce electricity without producing carbon pollution, but did you all realize they also save so much water? 'Share' to let your friends know, too!" But is the graphic accurate? That depends what you mean by "accurate." For more resources see: www.kcet.org
Here are some numbers you can think about: If all of Earth's water (oceans, icecaps and glaciers, lakes, rivers, groundwater, and water in the atmosphere was put into a sphere, then the diameter of that water ball would be about 860 miles (about 1,385 kilometers), a bit more than the distance between Salt Lake City, Utah to Topeka, Kansas. The volume of all water would be about 332.5 million cubic miles (mi3), or 1,386 million cubic kilometers (km3). A cubic mile of water equals more than 1.1 trillion gallons. A cubic kilometer of water equals about 264 billion gallons.
For more resources see: water.usgs.gov
The average home goes through about 200 gallons per day. For more resources see: aquaholics.ucsd.edu
Eggs 196 litres of water are used to produce one egg (60g) – keep yours in the fridge, and if you cook it thoroughly you can use it up to two days after the ‘best before’.
Banana 160 litres of water are used to produce one banana – if yours are looking a bit soft, mash bananas on toast with a sprinkle of cinnamon for a delicious breakfast.
Apple 125 litres of water are used to produce one apple – keep yours in the fridge, in the loosely tied bag to make it last for longer.
Rice 125 litres of water are used to produce a single portion of rice (50g) [2,497 litre/kg] – use scales or a mug to measure out rice when you cook it, and if you’ve cooked too much, cool it quickly, put it into an air-tight container in the fridge and use it the next day.
Tomato 50 litres of water are used to produce one tomato (250g) – keep yours in the fridge, and if you’ve got too many, puree them and freeze them to use in soups and sauces.
For more resources see: www.thinkeatsave.org
For more resources see: www.epa.gov
These are just a few examples of groundwater contaminants. They cause a variety of health and environmental problems. It is therefore necessary that steps are taken to prevent water pollution.
Barium is used in the oil and gas industries. Small amounts of barium in water can cause stomach irritation, swelling of the brain and liver, and breathing difficulties. Large amounts can cause paralyses.
Fluorine is indirectly used in producing Teflon and Halons such as Freon. It can be found in soil, various rocks, and clay. Frequent absorption of fluorine can cause harm to the kidney, nerves, muscles, and bones.
Nitrate is used in manufacturing ammonia, which is used in the production of fertilizer. It can cause severe health effects like decreased functional levels of the thyroid glands, shortage in Vitamin A, and cancer.
Nitrite can be found in water pipes. It can inhibit the capacity of blood to carry oxygen, thus oxygen level decreases. When not treated promptly, nitrite exposure can lead to death.
Chlorine is usually found in bleaches and disinfectants. When inhaled in large amounts, it can cause respiratory problems or skin and eye irritation.
Sodium is commonly found in alloy structures and soap. It is one of the compounds used in salt. Excessive sodium in the body can lead to high blood pressure and kidney damage.
Sulfur is found in batteries, fertilizers, gun powder, and even detergents. Some health effects of sulfur are heart damage, reproductive failure, immune system damage, and eye problems.
Copper is widely used for electrical equipment. It is usually found in landfills, industrial areas, and mines. Long-term exposure may cause stomachaches, dizziness, and kidney damage.
Zinc can be found in steel, rubber, paint, wallpaper, cosmetics, and plastics. While the body needs a little amount of zinc, too much of it can lead to vomiting, skin irritations and anemia. High levels can lead to damage in the pancreas and respiratory problems.
Iron is considered as the most commonly used metal. While moderate amounts are essential for the blood, it may cause conjunctivitis and retinitis if it comes in contact with the tissue.
For more resources see: www.ecoevaluator.com
So, for household use - drinking, sanitation, cooking, and bathing - what do you think is the average per person in the United States? How about Switzerland? Botswana? Viet Nam? Water Consumption Per Person Per Day:
United States: 176.5 gallons (668 liters) Switzerland: 28.9 gallons (109.4 liters) Botswana: 19.3 gallons (73 liters) Viet Nam: 39.1 gallons (148 liters)
For more resources see: www.thepeoplespeak.org
For more resources see: www.conserveh2o.org
Know when you'll probably need to do this. Should your plumbing freeze in winter season or if you locate a drip in your home, you will have to stop the water supply to undertake any repairs. Here are some quick steps you can take.
For more resources see: http://www.wikihow.com/Turn-off-Your-Water-Supply-Quick-and-Easy
Here are Four examples:
Meteorological Drought: Meteorological drought is defined usually on the basis of the degree of dryness (in comparison to some “normal” or average amount) and the duration of the dry period. Definitions of meteorological drought must be considered as region specific since the atmospheric conditions that result in deficiencies of precipitation are highly variable from region to region.
Agricultural Drought: Agricultural drought links various characteristics of meteorological (or hydrological) drought to agricultural impacts, focusing on precipitation shortages, differences between actual and potential evapotranspiration, soil water deficits, reduced groundwater or reservoir levels, and so forth. Plant water demand depends on prevailing weather conditions, biological characteristics of the specific plant, its stage of growth, and the physical and biological properties of the soil. A good definition of agricultural drought should be able to account for the variable susceptibility of crops during different stages of crop development, from emergence to maturity. Deficient topsoil moisture at planting may hinder germination, leading to low plant populations per hectare and a reduction of final yield. However, if topsoil moisture is sufficient for early growth requirements, deficiencies in subsoil moisture at this early stage may not affect final yield if subsoil moisture is replenished as the growing season progresses or if rainfall meets plant water needs.
Hydrological Drought: Hydrological drought is associated with the effects of periods of precipitation (including snowfall) shortfalls on surface or subsurface water supply (i.e., stream flow, reservoir and lake levels, groundwater). The frequency and severity of hydrological drought is often defined on a watershed or river basin scale. Although all droughts originate with a deficiency of precipitation, hydrologists are more concerned with how this deficiency plays out through the hydrologic system. Hydrological droughts are usually out of phase with or lag the occurrence of meteorological and agricultural droughts. It takes longer for precipitation deficiencies to show up in components of the hydrological system such as soil moisture, stream flow, and groundwater and reservoir levels. As a result, these impacts are out of phase with impacts in other economic sectors. For example, a precipitation deficiency may result in a rapid depletion of soil moisture that is almost immediately discernible to agriculturalists, but the impact of this deficiency on reservoir levels may not affect hydroelectric power production or recreational uses for many months. Also, water in hydrologic storage systems (e.g., reservoirs, rivers) is often used for multiple and competing purposes (e.g., flood control, irrigation, recreation, navigation, hydropower, wildlife habitat), further complicating the sequence and quantification of impacts. Competition for water in these storage systems escalates during drought and conflicts between water users increase significantly.
Socioeconomic Drought: Socioeconomic definitions of drought associate the supply and demand of some economic good with elements of meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural drought. It differs from the aforementioned types of drought because its occurrence depends on the time and space processes of supply and demand to identify or classify droughts. The supply of many economic goods, such as water, forage, food grains, fish, and hydroelectric power, depends on weather. Because of the natural variability of climate, water supply is ample in some years but unable to meet human and environmental needs in other years. Socioeconomic drought occurs when the demand for an economic good exceeds supply as a result of a weather-related shortfall in water supply. For example, in Uruguay in 1988–89, drought resulted in significantly reduced hydroelectric power production because power plants were dependent on streamflow rather than storage for power generation. Reducing hydroelectric power production required the government to convert to more expensive (imported) petroleum and implement stringent energy conservation measures to meet the nation’s power needs.
For more resources see: drought.unl.edu
Water is a critical resource for human survival. If we fail to conserve water, eventually an adequate, healthy water supply may not be available. Lack of water can lead to dramatic consequences. Water conservation can help prevent local and global problems such as rising costs, reduced food supplies, health hazards and armed conflict.
Shortages: Water, especially the fresh, potable water necessary for survival, is in limited supply. Overuse of water results in shortages. Although water can be recycled, and the supply itself is ultimately maintained through the natural cycle of evaporation, condensation and rain, overuse of water results in an immediate depletion of an area's currently available supply. Although reservoirs and aquifers can be restored, this process takes time, and an immediate shortage can cause dramatic short-term effects.
Conflict: As the world's population continues to grow, so does the demand for water. Without conservation, naturally dry areas of the world will eventually run out of water, forcing the native populations to migrate. This places added demand on other areas of the world, so conflict during periods of scarcity of water or drought is inevitable, according to the Secretary General of the United Nations.
Food Supply: Beyond providing sustenance for the human body, water is also a critical resource for growing our food supply. The increased urbanization of America has siphoned water from rural areas, where food is typically grown, to urban areas, where the majority of Americans live. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that groundwater levels and storage continue to decline in places like California's Central Valley. Lack of conservation will result in the further depletion of water that can be used to grow food, which in turn results in less food available for a growing population.
For more resources see: www.livestrong.com
The "simple" hurdle that must be overcome to turn seawater into fresh water is to remove the dissolved salt in seawater. That may seem as easy as just boiling some seawater in a pan, capturing the steam and condensing it back into water (distillation). Other methods are available but these current technological processes must be done on a large scale to be useful to large populations, and the current processes are expensive, energy-intensive, and involve large-scale facilities.