Water is life

Fresh water is at present a somewhat local commodity. Only3% of the water present on earth is fresh water out of which 2.50% is in frozenstate and can not be used for any purpose. That leaves only 0.50% for its usein Irrigation, Hydropower and Drinking purposes. Any human consumes about75000litres of water in his life for drinking purposes while as about6500litres of water are required to grow one days food for one person.

What are the environmental impacts of using all of thiswater? They range from minimal to significant, depending on the location. Insome areas, annual natural rainfall is sufficient for most years, whereas otherareas must import most of their water via aqueducts even during the wettest ofyears.

   

The systems needed to procure, store and transmit water canhave major environmental impacts. Many of these systems are already built, so anatural question is, how does cutting water use help? For one, many of theimpacts below are  directly correlatedwith use – reduce irrigation needs, and the amount of water consumed during thesummer when habitat needs are also greatest decreases. And, reduced demandmeans that fewer new structures will be built and, some day, existing onesmight be removed.

Dams: Dams often have multiple uses – while primarily forwater storage, they are often used to provide flood protection and generateelectricity as well. The environmental impacts are well-known: they presentformidable obstacles to anything trying to move up or downstream, and have as aresult decimated populations of fish such as salmon worldwide. Dams also changethe ecosystem of a waterway by warming / cooling water and reducing sedimentflows. This can eliminate populations of native fish and other aquatic animals.

Diversions: Diversions are structures built to convey waterfrom places of plenty to places of scarcity. In the largest cases, they movewater from one part of a state to another or across state lines, acting asman-made rivers. These structures are used throughout the world, carrying waterfrom the mountains to the dry cities. The key impact of such structures is thequantity of water they remove from natural systems.

Groundwater mining: Groundwater withdrawals represent almost25% of the fresh water of the States. Groundwater is created by theinfiltration of rain and other sources of water into the layers of sediment androck below ground. There, groundwater either slowly flows downhill until itenters a river, lake or stream, or remains permanently underground in largenatural basins.

When water is withdrawn from groundwater supplies at thesame rate it is replaced by rain and other mechanisms, then groundwater basinsare a sustainable water source. However, in many areas of the groundwater isbeing withdrawn at rates far greater than what can be replaced by naturalprocesses. These unsustainable withdrawals, often referred to as groundwater”mining”?, have major environmental consequences. They can dry up the riversand streams previously fed by the groundwater basins, destroying the ecosystemsthat depended on them.

Because groundwater in part supports the land above it,withdrawals can also cause land above to settle, called “subsidence.” In someareas of the country, the ground elevation has fallen by over 10 feet since thelate 1940s, damaging manmade structures and natural resources alike.

Key Causes of Excessive Water Use:

There are many sources of water waste across all sectors ofthe economy. But, as homeowners and consumers, which ones do we have the mostcontrol over? Low Impact Living suggests you consider the following ideas whenthinking about lowering your water use.

Direct Household Water Use                                                                                                                                                      Thetypical household with three members uses over 300 gallons of water per day,both inside and outside. If you live in a warm climate where lawn irrigation isneeded, then typically this is your single biggest source of waste – most lawnsare over-watered, irrigated with inefficient equipment, and planted with plantsnot suitable to the local climate.

Inside, toilets, clothes washers and showers are the largestwater users, representing 19, 15 and 12 gallons per person per dayrespectively. There are huge inefficiencies here as well, especially in olderhomes. New appliances and plumbing fixtures can often shave 50% off of yourwater use.

All told, an average water-conserving home could cut the 300gallon average above to less than 150 gallons with no sacrifice in comfort orperformance. Specific things you can do to achieve these savings are listedbelow.

Indirect Water Use

In addition to the water that you use directly, you alsoconsume water via the products and services that you buy.

The largest single source of indirect water use is throughthe generation of electric power. Electric power plants employ water togenerate steam and for cooling. Per capita water use due to power generation isa whopping 480 gallons per day. This varies greatly by locality. In Countriesusing hydroelectric power plants or seawater-cooled plants, fresh water use canbe less than one gallon of water per kilowatt-hour of power generated. In otherCountries with no hydro resources and only fresh water available, the use canbe very high.

Another indirect water use is the food and beverages that weconsume. When you consider the entire lifecycle of a food product, from farm todinner table, many foods require huge amounts of water to produce. Most meats(beef being worst), heavily processed foods, and some vegetables that grow inwet conditions use tremendous amounts of water.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO REDUCE WATER CONSUMPTION?

(SMART CITY MISSION)

1. Improve the water efficiency of your lawn. For manyhomeowners in the city outgrowth, lawn irrigation is likely the largest sourceof residential water waste. There are many things one can do to correct this.

•             Adjustyour irrigation controller to fit your climate conditions and landscaping. Thisalone can produce water savings of over 30%. Some water utilities offer wateraudits, so check with your local water provider to see if they offer thisservice.

•             Installrain and soil moisture sensors. Many people don’t turn off their irrigationwhen it rains. Also, most lawns receive far more water than they actually needwhen it isn’t raining. Both problems can be corrected using sensors attached toyour irrigation system.

•             Replaceexisting landscaping with climate-appropriate options, keeping grass to aminimum. The biggest challenge with many yards is that they are composed ofplants originally from other areas with vastly different climate conditions.The typical turf lawn can use up to 40 inches of water a year or more; manyclimate zones have far less than that in rainfall. What most people don’trealize is that all regions have native plants that are beautiful, durable, andadapted to local climate conditions. Some native grasses can provide thebenefits of turf while requiring 1/3 of the water. So, if you really want tosave water and also want to stand out on your block, cut down your turf use andrebuild your lawn using beautiful natives.

•             Installgray water system to reuse household waste water. Much of the water that youuse inside your house can be reused outside for irrigation (excluding toiletsand kitchen drains). This water is called “gray water”, as it is used but doesnot contain health hazards. Not only do you use less water this way, but youalso save on sewer charges. This requires some fairly complex plumbing work, soit might best be left to professionals.

•             Replacehigh-flow plumbing fixtures with efficient versions. Today’s high efficiencyplumbing fixtures (toilets, showerheads, etc) not only save water and energy,but also perform as well as their water-guzzling predecessors. You may bewasting tens of gallons a day if you live in an older house with old fixtures.

•             Replaceold clothes washers and dishwashers with Energy Star versions. The main benefitof most Energy Star appliances is that they save energy. But, most also savesignificant amounts of water at the same time.

•             Evaluateand fix leaks. This might come as a surprise, but over 10% of an averagehousehold’s water use can come from leaks. These are often undetected becausethey are small, hidden in water fixtures, walls and basements, or happenunderground. But, drop by drop every minute of the day they add up. Check yourPlumbing system to see if you have any leaks.

•             Reducesecond-order impacts. As described above, most of us use as much water via theproducts and services we use as we do directly (all of the products we userequire water somewhere in their production process).

•             Reduceelectricity use. Electricity is the biggest water hog by far. In somecountries, people “use” far more water by using electricity than through allother water-related activities combined. Use less juice, waste less water!

•             Know yourfood supply. The growth in demand for organic and other natural food productsshows that people care about where their food comes from. Another dimension ofthis is the water that it takes to grow them – for many products, the waterused in growing them in a particular region (say, rice in the desert?) maycounteract the organic benefits. Here are a few quick pointers:

1.            Buyproduce from areas and farms that practice water-efficient agriculture. Askyour grocers and farmers’ market vendors how they use water in growing theirproducts.

2.            Forprotein, eat less beef & mutton and chicken & fish. Beef is a realwater hog. Chicken and fish all use substantially less water per pound of meat.

By all these means we can reduce use of our daily needs of freshwater which in turn will save environment from the impact of excessive use ofwater.

(Er. Mehraj  Bhat isExecutive Engineer W.S.M.P.Division Srinagar)

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