The Importance of Saving Water
by Nancy Hearn

The importance of saving water on a personal and global level cannot be underestimated.

Even though over 70 percent of the earth is covered in water, nearly 97 percent of the water is salt water, which is not suitable for drinking.

That means that only 3 percent of all the water is fresh water, but only 1 percent of that water is available for drinking because about 2 percent is contained in glaciers and ice caps.

Why Save Water?

Water is a limited resource and population rates are growing. Thus, we all need to understand the importance of saving water as an invaluable resource for sustaining human life.

Water conservation is a job not only for water technicians, farmers, ranchers, hydrologists, foresters, city planners, and park managers; it is the responsibility of every human being. 

Just of the few of the reasons to save water include the personal cost, environmental protection, energy use, and recreational factors.

Personal Cost

Water usage costs money and the cost comes down to supply and demand. The higher the demand for water, the higher the cost.  Whenever we use water, our local utility service charges a fee. By saving water, we also save money on the price per unit.

Environmental Protection

Saving water protects the water supply which also protects the balance of life on earth. The over use of water can directly or indirectly alter the habitat of fish, as well as numerous other life forms. Reducing our use of water also helps to reduce pollution and conserve fuel resources.

Energy Use

Water use is directly related to energy use, another non-renewable resource that costs money.  Conserving water also reduces the energy needed to deliver it to homes, businesses, communities, and farms. 

Heating water for daily use in the home—laundry, bathing, cleaning, cooking—also requires energy.  The failure to conserve water can lead to rising costs of food, reduced food supplies and other products, health hazards, and even political conflicts.

Recreational Factors

Water also has valuable uses for providing recreation as well as beautiful surroundings.  Swimming pools, golf courses, botanical gardens, spas are just a few of our popular recreational uses of water. 

However, we also use a significant amount of fresh water for creating beautiful landscapes—green grass lawns, flower and vegetable gardens, water fountains, park lakes and ponds, etc. To continue to enjoy these recreational water uses, it behooves us to save water now.

See 10 Ways to Conserve Water and Reduce Your Water Footprint.

We hope you will help bring awareness to others about the importance of saving water.  If every person makes just a little effort to use and waste less water, we can help to protect this valuable resource for future generations.

Reference

TheBalance.com; Conservation Efforts: Why Should We Save Water? 2017

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