What is Fresh Water?
Fresh water, often referred to “sweet water”, is the water found naturally along earth’s surface such as lakes, rivers, ponds, icebergs, beneath the earth’s surface (underground water) but doesn’t include sea water (salt water) and brackish water. [Also read about fresh water in wikipedia.]
Fresh water contains less salt and other dissolved minerals, and thus contribute to a major source of supply of human potable water. However, though the term”sweet water” is used for fresh water, all fresh water are not suitable for human consumption.
Both human-beings and other species on this planet – from plants to birds to animals – need fresh water to survive. Our water supplies are under threat from intensive farming, pollution, consumer greed, and just sheer wastefulness and mismanagement.
Conserving fresh water is important because it enables us to have enough water for drinking, washing, and agriculture.
How can we conserve fresh water?
To conserve something means to preserve it, and to keep it so that it can be used properly. Conserving fresh water thus means not depleting or wasting our precious stocks of fresh water. Here are few ways to conserve fresh water.
1. Use less water in the home: from brushing your teeth while you shower, to reusing cooking water and installing smart flushing systems in your lavatory, there are numerous ways to reduce your daily water consumption.
2. Build a water conservation system in your own home: this is surprisingly easy to do and it is actually quite fun. You can collect rainwater in a water-butt or a similar storage tank and use it for all kinds of purposes. This so-called grey water is great for watering your plants, washing your car and windows, and even flushing the toilet (your home’s lavatory is probably your largest waster of water – several gallons of fresh water are lost every time it is flushed, and rainwater is perfectly safe to use in the cistern). Remember, though, rainwater should not be used for cooking or for washing your body with unless you boil it and treat it with sterilizing tablets. You can, however, feed fresh rainwater to pets such as dogs, cat, and rabbits.
3. Opt for a vegan diet: vegan food has a much lower carbon footprint than both meat based and vegetarian food. But, it also uses less water, too! Get your energy from cereals, fruits, veggies, and pulses and care for the planet in many different ways.
4. Avoid pollution: stop burning fossil fuels, consume less, and take public transport wherever possible instead of driving or taking the plane. Pollution is acidifying our oceans and fresh water supplies at an alarming rate.
5. Large scale movement: For our water supplies to be safe and protected, it needs to be a mass movement. Get the word out by educating others and get in touch with companies, governments and others with the power to influence the way in which water is conserved and used on a larger scale to get the message disseminated as widely as possible.
Conclusion
Conserve fresh water! The good work starts today. Do your bit to stop this from happening by taking concrete steps every single day to conserve fresh water. Get others doing likewise and, together, we can save the precious planet earth that we all live on.