Water conservation is one of the few and effective ways we can make sure there is enough water available for everyone, in the present and in the future.Contrary to public belief, water is not an infinite resource. People in various parts of the world are facing water shortages brought on by irresponsible usage of water, global warming, rapid colonization, and social inequity.Conserving the water that is available to us can help solve this problem. Small things if done by everyone, like using lower amounts of water than needed, can go a long way. Conserving water is important because it saves energy, decreases the strain on the supply of water, and simply means more water can be routed to people who really need it. There is a factor of social justice involved wherein the people of underdeveloped countries have less access to drinking water. The global population will only increase, so some of the strain of the future can be decreased by acting to conserve water today.If you enjoyed this article, why not also read about why do golfers yell fore or why do your ears pop here on Kidadl.Reasons We Should Conserve WaterThe occurrence of droughts throughout the world is increasing. The supply of freshwater is very limited and it is a very precious resource that has no substitute. Conserving water is essential and the need to start is now since a shortage of water can prove very overwhelming.Even though the planet is 71% water, many places suffer an acute shortage of clean usable water. Conservation efforts cannot come soon enough, because, without water, there is no life. Using less water and saving it is very essential. Humans are the smartest species in the world and they should know why clean water is important for future generations. There are many reasons for clean water-saving, mostly for the people of present and future generations.The very first reason is that water is the most important staple in all our daily activities. Everything we do requires water. We cannot live without drinking water. It is said that a person can go a month without food but may die in a matter of days if they don’t consume water. RO and UV filters can clean water but they tend to take away the minerals of naturally clean water, which are essential. Hygienic water helps us create saliva, protects the spinal cord, joints, and tissues. Hygienic water also helps us give our best physical performance, aids digestion, and wards off constipation. It can also help in maintaining weight and is needed for excreting waste through urination, defecation, and perspiration.Ample clean water is needed to fight illnesses, boost energy, and circulate oxygen throughout the body. We need water to cook every day. It is a necessary component when cooking and no dish can be prepared without it. We take a bath or a shower with several gallons or liters of water. Not taking a shower can make us smell bad and we can contact diseases like body lice, ringworm, and athlete’s foot. We basically need water to clean most things. We need it to wash our clothes, utensils, car, floor, and just about everything. Almost all our daily activities come to a halt without water.Another reason is that irrigation systems and crops require a steady water supply. Vegetables and fruits need water to survive and grow. If an area suffers from drought, there is no food crop. If droughts keep happening, the plants will die out. If you take away water, all of the world’s population will eventually starve to death.Water is also essential for protecting our wildlife and the world ecosystem. Humans aren’t the only animal species on Earth. The importance of water to plants and other animals cannot be understated. Wildlife needs water to survive. Amphibian species like newts, frogs, and toads need water for breeding and sheltering. Butterflies are known to get salts and minerals from muddy water and birds use it for bathing and ridding themselves of parasites.The lower amount of water we use, the more money we save. The water company charges you less money if you use less water. The money saved from showers can be used elsewhere. Money is the best incentive because saving enough water will allow you to save money to spend on other things. If you use a low-flow showerhead while you shower for 10 minutes, almost 15 gal (56.8 L) of water could be saved.Saving water conserves energy. Gallons of water has to be pumped through many miles via open aqueducts, pipelines, and even through mountains. A central facility is usually used for pumping water and this needs a truly great amount of energy. For houses that use municipal water, the energy needed can exceed the energy required to use a refrigerator. Rural homes that have deep wells, water pumping activities use the most amount of energy. Water-saving eventually decreases your carbon footprint.Also, clean water is a finite resource. There may be a consensus among people that the amount of water is infinite, but it is very much not the case. This is another reason to save and not pollute the water that is available. About 97.5% of the water on Earth is saltwater and 2.4% is frozen in ice caps and glaciers. This leaves only 0.3% freshwater to be used by 7 billion of us. The population is only going to increase exponentially.If we don’t conserve and save water on the Earth, things can become very tough for many generations to come.What will happen if we do not conserve water?Not conserving water can have dire consequences. Water is an absolutely necessary commodity. The supply may seem abundant, but water is indeed a limited resource. Without drinking water, there is no human life. Without the much-needed conservation efforts, it’s almost certain that we will run out of the finite amount of water we have. There are added benefits to conserving water as well, like saving energy, resources, and equipment.Without the conservation of water, farming practices are harder to preserve. In the Central Valley of California, rapid urbanization has caused the draining of aquifers as well as surface water from the farmlands in rural areas. Much like other areas of the USA, Central Valley is an essential supplier of food crops for the country. An increase in the water demand in urban cities has taken a toll on farms and the amount of food that they can supply. A similar situation is unfolding across many places around the world.All life on earth is connected to the water supply. Conservation of water is tied to the balance of all life on earth. This balance can be catastrophically upset without proper water conservation. Water overuse by humans threatens other plant and animal life, which will eventually come back to us in the form of shortages of resources. A report by the United States Bureau of Reclamation states that in the last 100 years, about 21 fish species have gone extinct in 17 different western states. This was directly due to a change in habitat. This habitat destruction is attributable to expanding human populations, and increased demand for water in these habitats.Water arrives in your house at a personal cost as well. You pay utility charges for the water you use. So, if there is a scarcity of water, your bills can run really high. Saving water will in turn save your money and eventually decrease the overall price of water too.Also, using more water means using more energy. As water is a limited resource, its cost will increase if there is a shortage and this will increase the cost of sourcing it. The water you already get needs to be heated for bathing and even cleaning. So if you use more water, you need more energy for heating. The water utility company will need to spend more money to get the water to you, so they are likely to increase prices on you.If you save water, the demand to maintain and create delivery and treatment systems like septic systems and sewage plants is reduced. If not conserved or overused, there is increased demand which means more money is needed to replace and repair run-down equipment. Local treatment plants may get overwhelmed and this means building newer infrastructure or some water may make it to your house that hasn’t been treated properly. This may result in health hazards. A septic system that has been overburdened can cause untreated water to leak into the soil too.Need For Water ConservationConservation of water will help us sustain life for future generations of humans and other life. The same amount of water can be used for a long time if we save and conserve it.It is rather a necessity to save water since all our natural resources are declining and the population is only going to increase. An increasing population needs more resources. Even a simple thing like keeping a tap closed can make a difference. Developed nations that tend to overuse water should take the lead in water conservation efforts. We already know how water is important for us and the wildlife that often becomes our resources. There are some other reasons why we need to conserve water.The conservation of water is tied to global warming. As the planet gets hot, people need more water. Heating up causes water evaporation. Even if a higher global temperature does not affect rainfall, the water that we do get will evaporate into the atmosphere, meaning less water for our crops. The lakes and rivers around the world are also drying up. Global warming is translating to less water, which means we need to save it more.Freshwater is rare and kind of our only option. Even though we can desalinize sea water, the process is much too expensive to be sustainable. Conservation is the simplest way to have ample water.Water availability is also tied to social justice. The sources of freshwater in underdeveloped countries can be polluted. Also, the people in these nations are being hit hardest by climate change that has been caused by developed nations since they do not have the resources to spread the word about the importance of soil preservation and preventing erosion. So, these regions grow arider and the water problem grows worse. Even if you conserve water in developed countries, it won’t make itself available in underdeveloping nations, but it can help raise our own awareness as to why water is important and the grave dangers of water scarcity.Importance Of Saving WaterSaving water is important since it is a finite resource, and conserving it is the only way we can assure the sustainability of future generations of humans and wildlife.It may seem unimportant to leave a tap running while cleaning vegetables or brushing teeth. But such wastage can have eventual consequences of availability and human health. Making available water drinkable itself takes a lot of resources and energy.Even many developed places around the world are already facing shortages for example, the western USA. In 2014, California had to endure the worst drought it had seen in about 500 years, according to Berkley’s University of California professor B. Lynn Ingram. The State Water Project of California, which supplies water to local areas, is out of water due to this drought. Such an example is not at all unique. Many regions around the world face droughts and drying up of reservoirs, wildfires, leading to eventual livestock starvation.Food shortages are another example of this problem. Low water supply means less water available for irrigation. About 70% of the water that people use is for agriculture and feeding livestock. As the world population increases, demand for food also rises. There is also the contamination and pollution of water to deal with. Conservation will translate to increased water availability for crops. If food is scarce, more people will be vulnerable to starvation.Water scarcity also has ecological consequences worldwide. More than half the wetlands on earth have dried up. These wetlands support a large number of key wild species. Pollution and destruction of these will translate to humans as imbalanced ecosystems and fewer food resources. People also depend on wildlife for hunting, recreation, and tourism. Wild ecosystems should be prevented from pollution and falling into disarray.Almost a billion people around the world do not have access to drinking water. There is a rather large discrepancy between the people of developed and underdeveloped nations. Conservation of water is key to ensuring that everyone has a chance to get water. Things like a person taking shorter showers, not running the tap unnecessarily, pouring the water into plants instead of draining, running only full dishwashers or loads of laundry can make a difference. Conserving water benefits the world today. We’re just realizing the importance of water but there is still time to act.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for why do we need to conserve water then why not take a look at why do boats float or why do leaves fall.
Water conservation is one of the few and effective ways we can make sure there is enough water available for everyone, in the present and in the future.
