The Pros And Cons Of Conserving Water

Have you ever wondered how much of the Earth’s water is drinkable? Well, the surface of the Earth is made up of 70% water. 97% of that water is saline, meaning salt water, which is found in oceans and seas. The last 3% is freshwater which humans need to survive and that number is going down (Mohan). In the U.S., droughts, floods, and climate changes are rapidly going up. It is suggested that by the next 10 years one of many regions in the U.S. is going to face a water shortage (Kincaid).

Over the last few years, California has received a big wake-up call, as drought forces them to reconsider water as a scarce commodity (Kincaid). While many people believe that the cause of droughts is from low precipitation they would be right, but also wrong.

Even for people who are not living in a drought-stricken region, cutting back on water use also means a lower utility bill and helps conserve a precious resource. There are several large and small ways that the community can conserve water around their houses. Here are a few ideas to help stop wasting water: instead of letting the water pour down the drain, stick a bucket under the faucet while waiting for the shower water to heat up. Use this water for flushing the toilet or watering the plants. Water comes out of the average faucet at 2.5 gallons per minute (Striepe). Don’t let all that water run down the drain while brushing teeth or washing hands. Turn off the faucet when it is not being used. Fixing leaky pipes will also help preserve water, whether it do it yourself or hiring a plumber to do it. Instead of dumping the water that was used for making pasta down the drain, try draining the pasta water into a large pot. Once it cools, it can be used to water the plants. Just make sure to wait, because if one dumps that boiling water on their plants, they might get harmed. Older shower heads can use as much as 5 gallons of water per minute (Striepe). Speed things up in the shower or just skip a shower for a day for some serious water savings, or install a water saving shower head. Finally, installing water barrels on rainspouts is a great way of watering plants rather than using the garden hose