Water Conservation
Ninety-seven percent of water is salt water found in oceans and seas. Less than two percent of the Earth’s water supply is fresh water, and one percent of the Earth’s water is available for drinking water. Occurrences such as droughts further limit access to clean and fresh water, meaning people need to take steps to reduce water use and save as much water as possible.
Average water use
The average American uses one-hundred-forty to one-hundred-seventy gallons of water per day. Fifty percent of this is used by landscaping. Twenty-seven percent is used by showers. Twenty percent is used by toilets. Three percent is used in other ways. If every household in America’s faucet dripped once each second, nine-hundred-twenty-eight million gallons of water a day would leak away. Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or gardening or cleaning.
Facts on water conservation methods
Huge amounts of water are lost every year due to unattended faucet leaks, using outdated appliances, excessive clothes washing, showering, washing cars, gardening and other everyday household activities. Although special programs are held every year to increase the awareness of conservation, we as citizens of this planet need to conserve water if we hope to sustain our way of life.
What you can do
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Take shallow baths and plug the drain before you run water. Keep showers short with pressure at low force.
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Reuse bath water to water your lawn or shrubs or for heavy cleaning jobs like floors or cars.
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Install dual-flush toilets in the home.
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Buy the washing machines that have AAA ratings and that are ranked as energy efficient.
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Get rain tanks and collect rainwater. That water can be used for gardening and for washing cars.
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Use mulch around the trees and plants in your lawn. This keeps in moisture longer so that you will need less water to keep your lawn and plants healthy.