Conservation of water: Water covers three-quarters of our world, but only a tiny portion of it is drinkable, as we all know. As a result, it must be protected. Freshwater, which we can utilise for our daily needs and drinking, makes up only around 3% of the water on our planet. In our daily lives, we use water carelessly for washing, bathing, cleaning, and a range of other activities. Conservation of Water is very important for all living things.

It is only our responsibility to ensure an adequate water supply for future generations and practice the motto of save water save life before it is too late. Given how limited our freshwater supplies are on our planet, we have to do this regularly. It is only our obligation to ensure that future generations have access to sufficient water. Continue reading this article to know more about the ways to conserve water.

What Is Conservation of Water?

Conservation of Water refers to preserving, controlling and developing water resources, both surface water and groundwater, and preventing water pollution. Water conservation is known as using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage and avoid its wastage. We should understand the importance of water, figure out ways to save water, ways to conserve water and treat it as an asset to our planet.

Importance of Water Conservation Project

Every day we waste millions of gallons of water without even realising it. Water is an essential part of our life. We use water for domestic purposes such as drinking, cooking, washing, electricity production, farming, industrial purposes, and many other purposes supporting human life. 

Water conservation encloses the various policies, strategies, and activities to use freshwater as a sustainable resource and to safeguard the water environment while maintaining a balance between current and future human water demands. It is high time for us to find ways to save water to be available to us in the future. We should think of our future generations; if we waste our water resources senselessly, then it is evident that we will not have a sufficient supply of fresh water in the future. We have to make a little bit of extra effort to save water save earth. Take up water conservation projects in your area and take the first step in save water save life project.

Need of Water Conservation

Water is used in all day-to-day activities. We need to conserve water for the following reasons:

1. To ensure continuous water supply to our future generations, we need to conserve water today.
2. Because water is so crucial to our health, we must conserve fresh and potable water while also protecting it from contamination, as we only have a finite amount of fresh water on the planet. 
3. Water conservation is also important to ensure food security for all the living organisms on the Earth. Without water, plants and crops cannot grow on which we survive.

Measures for Water Conservation

Conservation of water is needed in all directions of life. We should find ways to conserve water at the domestic, industrial as well as at agricultural levels. Some of the measures for water conservation are discussed below:

1. Water Conservation in Domestic Uses

• Use water judiciously – It is very important for all of us to take responsibility for water conservation in our household works even if we are not facing any water shortage. Do not overuse water for washing clothes and dishes; close the taps when not in need.
• Check for any leaks in your toilets or kitchen pipes. Fix them as soon as possible as these small leakages can waste 100 gallons of water per day.
• Take showers with a minimal quantity of water required.
• Use a broom to clean your house instead of washing floors.
• Turn off the tap water while brushing your teeth and shaving.
• Wash your vehicles with a minimum quantity of water required.
• Do not water plants unnecessarily. Use showers or mugs to water your plants instead of using flowing water pipes.

2. Methods of Irrigation that Conserve Water

(a) Drip Irrigation – Drip irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the probability of saving water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly directly to the roots of plants. 

This method aims to supply water directly into the root zone of plants and minimise evaporation. By drip irrigation, there is no water loss due to seepage, run-off or evaporation. This has emerged as a very efficient method of irrigation.

(b) Sprinkler Irrigation – Water is distributed through a pipe system, and is sprayed into the air and irrigates in most of the soil types as it has a wide range of discharge capacity.

(c) Night Irrigation – During night-time, humidity is high, which results in a reduced evaporation rate. Since there is no sun, solar radiation does not contribute to water evaporation, which minimises water loss.

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3. Modern Methods of Water Conservation

Modern water conservation methods are more accessible and more effective, such as water conservation methods at home and on the farm.

(a) Rainwater Harvesting

• (b) Rainwater harvesting is the process of collection and storage of rainwater rather than allowing it to run off. 
• (c) The importance of rainwater harvesting is that it can be stored for future use as rainwater is pure and fresh; it can be used directly for many domestic purposes such as cleaning, washing, and gardening.
• (d) The stored rainwater also checks and revitalises the ground level water and improves its quality. Harvesting rainwater also checks surface water run-off and reduces soil erosion.
• (e) Use your washing machine for full loads only while washing clothes. Every time you use a washing machine, you use a lot of water. Therefore, try to wash your clothes once in bulk instead of small parts when needed.
• (f) Protection of water from pollution – As we all know that fresh water is present in minimal quantity; hence, we should try not to pollute them by minimising the use of fertilisers, pesticides, and other chemicals in fields. As run-off water from fields can pollute water bodies near them.
• (g) Wastewater Recycling by Sewage Treatment Plants

Most of the water that is drained after bathing or cleaning can be reused for gardening. But sewage water can be recycled and used for irrigation after treatment in sewage water treatment plants, followed by removal of solid wastes, aeration, disinfection and filtration.

Objectives of Water Conservation

The objectives of water conservation include the following points:

1. Availability of water for future generations should be ensured, and the rate of consumption of water in the ecosystem should not exceed its replacement rate.
2. Energy conservation: In some water management plants, most of the electricity is used in water pumping, delivery, and wastewater treatment. This consumption of energy must be minimised.
3. Conservation of Habitat: Reducing personal use of water can help to preserve water for local wildlife and aquatic habitats. On the other hand, the construction of water diversion infrastructures such as dams should be reduced to some extent as it may disturb the local flora and fauna.

Analysis of Water Conservation

1. Water demands in residential areas are evaluated, and minimisation in water usage is suggested to reduce water scarcity during summers.
2. Water treatment plants should be expanded to improve the quality of degraded water.
3. The uncontrolled rise in population has led to water scarcity. So, there is utmost need to conserve water to meet the increasing demands in future. 
4. In India, almost \({\rm{80\% }}\) of fresh water is used in agriculture.
5. Around \({\rm{85\% }}\) of freshwater comes to the Earth from rain, and the rest \({\rm{15\% }}\) comes from melting snow and ice. Thus, rainwater harvesting can help to overcome water scarcity to a great extent.

Benefits of Water Conservation

Water conservation is of utmost importance to meet the demand of an exponentially growing population. Various benefits of water conservation are listed below:

1. Minimised effects of drought and water shortage: With time, our need for fresh water sources is constantly increasing because of the growing population and industrial growth, but the freshwater supply stays constant. Thus, by reducing the amount of water we use, we can protect our Earth against future drought years.
2. It preserves our environment and energy: Reducing our water usage, and going forward to better water management, reduces the energy required to process and deliver it to homes, farms, agriculture fields, and communities by using pumps. This, in turn, helps to reduce pollution and conserve fuel resources. As a result, our environment is protected.
3. Saves money: If we fail to conserve water, this can eventually lead to a lack of adequate water supply, which can have drastic consequences. 
4. It makes freshwater available for recreational purposes: We need freshwater not only in swimming pools, spas, and golf courses but are also used for beautifying our surroundings by watering lawns, trees, flower gardens, and vegetable gardens, as well as filling public fountains at parks. If we fail to conserve water now, we may lose these beauties later on.
5. If an ample amount of fresh water is present in the environment, it will reduce the need for new wastewater treatment facilities
6. Conservation of water saves aquatic habitat to a great extent.
7. Rainwater harvesting increases the water table by increasing the level of underground potable water.

Summary

We should understand the fact that saving water saves a life and follow the motto, “Save Water Save Life”. Water is as precious as money. So, whenever we waste water, we should feel that we are wasting money. Though water is a renewable natural resource, it is not replaced and replenished in nature as fast as it is consumed. Wasting water at the domestic as well as the industrial level has become very common. Hence, it is very important at the consumer level as well as the industrial level to reduce any wastage of water and reduce its unnecessary consumption.

 To avoid severe water scarcity in future, we should start conserving water from today before it comes to an alarming rate. Various methods of water conservation have been implemented, such as rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation, sprinkle irrigation, sewage wastewater recycling, and many more. 

As an individual, we should take the responsibility to save water save earth by bringing small modifications in our daily routine such as closing the tap when not in use, checking for any leakage at home and fixing it, taking a shorter bath, and many more. Hence, it can be concluded that instead of waiting for somebody else to start conserving water, we should take the first step towards conserving water!

FAQs

We have provided some frequently asked questions on Conservation of Water here:

Q.1: Among rainwater harvesting and groundwater extraction, which is not a conservation method of water resource?
Ans: Groundwater extraction is not a conservation method of water resource because water conservation deals with preserving freshwater for our future needs. It maintains a balance between the environment and living organisms. Water conservation also checks the water table. But groundwater extraction decreases water levels.

Q.2: Why is conservation of water necessary?
Ans: Conservation of water is necessary to ensure continuous water supply to our future generations. To protect us from health hazards caused by water pollution thus, we should also prevent contamination as we have only limited fresh water on the Earth. Water conservation is of utmost importance to ensure food security for all the living organisms on the Earth.

Q.3: How does rainwater harvesting help in the conservation of water?
Ans: Rainwater harvesting is the process of collection and storage of rainwater rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected so that it can be stored for future use. As rainwater is pure and fresh, it can be used directly for many domestic purposes such as cleaning, washing, and gardening. The stored rainwater also checks and increases the ground level water table and improve its quality. Rainwater harvesting also checks surface water run-off and reduces soil erosion.

Q.4: What is meant by conservation of water?
Ans: Conservation of water is known as using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage and prevent its wastage.

Q.5: What is the importance of water conservation?
Ans: Water is an essential part of our life. We use water for our domestic purposes such as drinking, cooking, washing, electricity production, farming, industry, and many other purposes that support our life. Water conservation is critical as it encloses the various policies, strategies and activities to use fresh water as a sustainable resource and efforts to safeguard the water environment while maintaining a balance between current and future human water demands. It is high time for us to start saving water today to be available to us in the future.

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