Saving the Shape of Water

Without a doubt, water is one of the important utilities that is essential to any living being. Survival without water is next to impossible. Even a single season of drought can almost bring a city to its knees. Conservation of such a national resource is an important responsiblity, not just relegated to the government but also to every one of us.

A reality shock came quite recently, when two popular cities in South Africa, Durban and Cape Town ran out of water and declared a national emergency. With less rainfall, high temperatures and high surface evaporation, both these towns are facing a severe crisis. With no proper steps taken to conserve water, the country will now have to start its battle with water, both for the present and future generations.

This is a wake up call for all the citizens across the globe, to understand that water is a resource that may not last forever, if we dont do something about it , pretty urgently.  Bangalore seems to be the next in list with signs of water scarcity already showing.  Though we have no control over the amount of rainfall a place we may get, we have full control on preservation and conservation of water at every step. I’ve always been stronly advocating against water wastage, esp in homes, public areas and restaurants.

Future of Water? 

Water is one of those natural resources that’s showing a decline thanks to climate change, increased temperatures and of course lack of conservation. Price of a bottle of water has already doubled in the last few years. In some European and African countries, water is actually costlier than beer.

If present situation continues, we can eventually find many lakes and rivers dry up soon , increased drought conditions and famines. The project of desalination (converting sea water to drinking water) has proven to be very expensive and not a realistic solution. Like space travel, one can’t be surprised if even water is made into capsules and sold.

Unless we do something about it, availability of water can be one of the biggest question marks in our life.

On a happy note, I am quite happy to write about water conservation techniques on the World Water Day celebrated on March 22nd.  I also got to learn about the interesting Initiative by LivPure called #CuttingPaani . This campaign is a stark remainder of times we waste precious drinking water , be it at home or at a restaurant.

Top 10 ways to Save water

1. Rain Water Harvesting
Rain water is one of the purest forms of water that can be used for drinking. However more than 95% of the rain water on land is wasted and not saved. A proper rain harvested flat can save a lot of these water and thereby improve the ground table levels of water.

2. Carry a water bottle with you.
We often buy water bottle from outside, everytime we go out and throw away the remaining water.
If we adopt a practice of carrying a small water bottle from home, we can avoid buying and at the same time, drink it fully.

3. A Quick Shower
Though you can take the occassional day to enjoy yourself in a nice long bath, make it a practice to keep your daily showers very quick and turn off the nozzle when not in use. More than 2 litres of water can be saved, even if you cut your shower time by just 3-4 minutes.

4. Spillage & Leaks
Prevent spillage of water as much as possible. If possible , prevent the use of bubble top water cans and instead opt for a water purifier than helps you to fill the exact amount of water you need. Even when you replace a bubble top can, ensure its completely empty before you replace with a new can.

Also do a routine check of all taps in the house to ensure there’s no leakage of water. Remember small drops maketh the Ocean.

5. Reusing water
If you have any disposable yet clean water, use it for floor cleaning or watering the plants. Or use the same to wash the clothes or vessels. Think twice before throwing any water out onto the sink.

6. #CuttingPaani Technique
Ok, this is a nice idea, I learnt it from the LivPure ad. When you are at a restaurant and towards the end of the meal, when the waiter come to refill your glass, ask him to stop at half glass, if you feel that’s all you need. Many a time, we let the waiters pour the entire glass, though we may have no intention of drinking it or probably drink only a little of it.

7. Plant Trees
One of the biggest reasons we are facing drought in most places, is because of extensive deforestation. Planting trees is pretty much the only way we can save our environment and save us from droughts and famines.

8. Collective washing & cleaning
The amount of water used for daily household activities such as washing clothes or vessels can consume more water than we can even imagine. By simply accumulating them and washing at one go, it can save several litres of water quite easily.

9. Half Flushes
Opt in for low water usage flushes or use a half flush accordingly as per need. This one act of yours and family members at home can easily save several gallons of water every day.

10. Spread the word !
The biggest act of saving water is to raise awareness around others. When you talk about your ideas, thoughts with friends, neighbours, family members, colleagues, people in your society or even post a simple tweet about it . A positive word has a strong.

Sign the Petition

One of the best ways to spread the awareness is to sign the change.org petition and share them on your social media as well . Here’s the link for it :  https://www.change.org/p/cuttingpaani

Do check out the interesting CuttingPani Campaign video from LivPure in this video

Do you have any other innovative methods to save water? Do let me know in the comments .