As the Environmental Committee in this article, we want to approach Water Day in order to give awareness about water consumption in our Community.
World Water Day is an initiative by the United Nations that tackles the global water crisis. It is focused on creating awareness on the 2 billion people that do not have access to water and reaching the 2030 goal: “water and sanitation for all”. The theme of the day changes each year: This year was focused on individual actions that can save water and accelerate the change. Next year’s theme is taking the initiative further by approaching the relationship between water and peace by promoting initiatives that give fair access to water and prevent conflict. Within our community water day is important since our management and mismanagement of this resource can have impacts on a wider scale.
People often think that their contribution to water usage does not correspond to a huge reduction in water levels. However, this is an absurd claim. We use 10 billion gallons of water a day[1]. In short, the average person uses around 101.5 gallons of water per day. This may seem like we are not using much. In fact, the washing machine uses 15 gallons of water[2]. This means that if we basically use the washing machine 7 times, it roughly corresponds to the gallons of water we use a day. China alone uses 598,100,000,000 gallons of water per year[3], and around 1176 liters of water per capita. This is basically using the washing machine 3987333333 times. Moreover, some intelligent and gifted people sometimes leave the sink open for 30 seconds. This is what is causing an excess waste of water. This squander is what is giving poor countries lack of water. We must stop excess, useless waste of water unless you want global change to raise the temperature of the earth by 10°C and melting all the ice, which ends up raising the sea level.
[1] The World Counts. “Average Daily Water Usage.” The World Counts, 2014, www.theworldcounts.com/stories/average-daily-water-usage.
[2]Gallons Used per Person per Day – Philadelphia, water.phila.gov/pool/files/home-water-use-ig5.pdf. Accessed 27 Sept. 2023.
[3] “Water Consumption Statistics – Worldometers.” Worldometers.info, 2015, www.worldometers.info/water/.
Additional statistics from the UNICEF[1]
- Four billion people — almost two thirds of the world’s population — experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year.
- Over two billion people live in countries where water supply is inadequate.
- Half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025.
- Some 700 million people could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030.
- By 2040, roughly 1 in 4 children worldwide will be living in areas of extremely high water stress.
[1] “Water Scarcity.” UNICEF, www.unicef.org/wash/water-scarcity. Accessed 6 Oct. 2023.
What are 5 easy ways to save water?
- Switch from baths to showers: This is one of the easiest way to save water. If you already take showers instead of baths, try keeping your showers to 4 minutes or less.
- Keep the sprinklers off: If you have a garden, avoid using sprinklers, and only use it when it’s necessary.
- Turn the water taps off: When brushing your teeth, keep the water taps off, as running taps waste as much as 6 liters of water per minute.
- Check for leaks: Even small drips can waste up to 50 gallons of water a day
Use a broom to clean driveways, sidewalks and steps: Constantly using a hose wastes hundreds of gallons of water
Infografía by MECO
Jorge, Patricio, Shin y Rodrigo Y12
Congratulations! It is inspiring to read that the Environmental Committee chose this issue of worldwide importance and addressed it with data and clear proposals showing that one person can actually make the difference. Thank you.