World Water Day 2022: 5 simple steps to conserve water

Water is the wonder liquid without which the existence of human beings would cease. It is one of the few basic necessities of survival for mankind. However, due to rampant use and unawareness about the depleting water resources, a huge amount of water is wasted daily. It is painful to know that close to 2.2 billion people in the world are currently surviving without access to safe water.

The groundwater level, an invisible resource with an impact visible everywhere as said by the United Nations, is decreasing gradually. "Life would not be possible without groundwater. Most arid areas of the world depend entirely on groundwater. Groundwater supplies a large proportion of the water we use for drinking, sanitation, food production and industrial processes. It is also critically important to the healthy functioning of ecosystems, such as wetlands and rivers," says the UN and emphasizes on curbing overexploitation of the groundwater. "We must protect them from overexploitation – abstracting more water than is recharged by rain and snow - and the pollution that currently haunts them, since it can lead to the depletion of this resource, extra-costs of processing it, and sometimes even preventing its use," it says.

In order to create awareness on fresh water, the United Nations observes World Water Day on 22 March every year. The first World Water Day was observed in 1993. "A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030," the UN says.

This World Water Day 2022 the focus is on "Groundwater, making the invisible visible".

Groundwater feeds springs, rivers, lakes and wetlands which are an important part of an ecosystem. The freshwater which we use for daily chores comes from groundwater. As per UN report, Asia and the Pacific region has the lowest per capita water availability in the world, with groundwater use in the region predicted to increase 30 per cent by 2050.

Water conservation is the only way out of this highly expected crisis.

On World Water Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized on the conservation of water and has tweeted, "Together, let’s further water conservation and contribute to a sustainable planet. Every drop saved helps our people and enhances our progress.”

Every little drop counts, so as a responsible inhabitant of this planet we must ensure that even a single drop of water is not wasted because the single drop that we save here can be useful for someone else in the future.

Few simple steps can help you save litres of water every day. Each drop that you save will be useful for a family in a distant land struggling for water. So think about it.

Do not keep the tap running while doing chores. For example, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth. As per a report, during brushing teeth one wastes 4 gallons of water each time which is equivalent to 15 litres of water.

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Rainwater harvesting is a very crucial water conservation technique. We usually let the rain water drain away and do not save it. Collecting and storing rainwater not only increases groundwater level, it also stops soil erosion and flood hazards to a great extent.

The kitchen waste water should be used to water the plants in the garden. Small kitchen gardens can also be set up and the water can be used. While this would not only help save litres of freshwater from being used just for plants, it would also help grow simple fruits and vegetables which the family or the community can use.

Use a bucket and mug for bathroom purposes, instead of showers. While using shower a person wastes close to 10 litres of water per minute as per a report. Such huge waste of water, which probably is difficult to be recycled, can be minimised with the use of a bucket and mug.

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If water is dripping from your kitchen tap, do not waste a moment thinking that it is just a drop of water. As per the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "a leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year. That's the amount of water needed to take more than 180 showers!"