Water is an integral part of our society. We use it to shower, flush toilets, water lawns, wash cars, fill pools, as ammo in Super Soaker fights, and any countless other uses. Water is thought by many to be an unlimited resource but in the coming years population increases will lead to a host of problems. More people means more agricultural run off, more industrial water waste, and more water use in general. Most people receive their water from their local town/city source while some people have wells on their property that they use. But this is not the true source of the water that we use daily.
Aquifers are the source of the fresh water that we use daily. Aquifers are essentially large underground lakes stored in certain rocks that have been built up over millions of years. These aquifers have been supplying water to people via personal wells and through springs. Aquifers also help regulate the water table in an area, meaning that when you get to “x” depth in an area, you hit water. Aquifers are replenished by rainfall, snow runoff, and other things. However, if aquifers are used more than replenished, they will run dry. For regions where freshwater is already scarce, the prospect of aquifers in the area drying up is a grave one.
Our daily lives involve a lot of water and generally this is very hard to completely stop. An easy habit to quit is buying bottled water. Bottled water is roughly a $70 to $90 billion dollar industry worldwide. Bottled water takes away from aquifers that local communities rely on. Bottled water also obviously adds to more plastic waste that needs to be processed for recycling. An easy fix is to buy a stainless steel water bottle to use. An average of daily water use, showed that roughly 10 gallons was lost to leaky pipes. Get that stubborn dripping faucet fixed to save on water and your water bill too! Another tip is to shut off the water when we’re brushing our teeth. On average, this can save up to another 10 gallons of water a day!
There are still many more ways to save water that are more lifestyle changes. One is to cut back on dairy and beef. Both the beef and dairy industry consume an enormous amount of water to produce steaks and milk, among other food items. Another is to cut back on cotton clothing. Cotton clothing is still widely grown and uses a large amount of water to grow. Hemp is the best substitute to cotton due to its more efficient use of less water, among the numerous other factors. Fresh water is being polluted and used up quickly every day. We all should learn how to do our part to keep fresh and clean water a constant in society. ‘Til next type - M.
Written by Michael Dour
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