Water conservation means the maintenance and protection of water so as to keep the quality and the quantity of usable water in our reach. Water is protected from degradation as a result of human activities like industry discharging of untreated waste, burying of toxic waste, underground testing of weapons that release radiation and other harmful substances into the water table as a result of the explosion hence cracking of the thick rock underground. Water can be polluted naturally for example when a volcano erupts from under and releases gases that are soluble in water sometimes making the water acidic hence undrinkable and unusable all together. Water conservation also means using water in proportions that it can replenish itself so as not to finish such sources that include aquifers that supply water to us through wells, bore halls geysers and other underground systems. Water can also be conserved by keeping the natural reservoirs in good conditions as well as building man-made catchments as well. These can be done easily by conserving forest, reforestation in areas where forest cover has been destroyed among other ways that we will see as we proceed.
We must understand the benefits of conserving water before we can make the important decision if we can ignore these advantages for our myopic pleasures that we have in our minds. By this I mean we need to understand the dangers of cutting down a forest for firewood like the steam engines did or to use other means of transport. Some of the benefits are some of the same benefits that we are enjoying now like increasing the ability of water and its potential resources to us. It would be very sad for us to remember that when we were poor and less developed we used to have adequate water to waste but now we have attained our goals we have less to even drink. Some countries like Israel have ensured this by ensuring water is less wasted and available in more places than it formerly was. In Kenya it is unimaginable that areas of Lake Turkana one of the biggest fresh water lakes in Africa still rely on pastoralism as their main income with abundant chances of agriculture if green houses were build. Water availability can be maximized by also ensuring the least amounts of water are wasted in irrigation by using easy methods like mulching of watering plants in the evening or using drip irrigation where irrigation is necessary. In Israel farmers are known to irrigate their plants with as tubes as thin as ball point tubes, surprising on how education can help us?
This point takes me to the third point increase of awareness. If we knew how much body reactions require water we could use it with more caution. Most of us knew that three quarters of the earth surface is water but no one went forward to tell us only one percent of it is really our life line. If people in Mount Kenya knew the effect their actions could have on millions of people downstream at least many of them would be more human to protect the quality of that water. If is the word that we should avoid using in future because it suggest a capability lost and hence much regret. We can avoid such regrets by teaching about simple facts about water in our schools, location levels and even using the media to reach the family level so as to minimize water misuse in future. Programs should be aired at prime times so as to get much audience and not like assignment earth in Aljazeera that comes to our television sets at eleven at night after a day of misuse of water.
Another benefit of conserving water is that there is a reduction of water related conflicts for example that have always occurred between India and Burma due to pollution of the river Ganges. These conflicts are sometimes evitable by only respecting other people’s right to clean water and hinder development sometimes leading to loss of lives and income as well. Pollution kills the water organisms as well as taking away income from farmers and fishermen when toxic materials kill fish or sometimes cause diseases to the human population. This then shows water conservation improves the quality of water in a water resource and leads to more benefits among them peace, increased cooperation and improved income among communities hence improved trade between communities and regions as well.
As a result of better cooperation between regions and countries data on forecasting can be shared hence help people prepare for severe droughts or flooding by such people cleaning their drainage pipes or digging dykes as well as enforcing earlier constructed preventive measures. Such preventive measures help a government to avoid in terms of drought or flooding entering a crisis stage and always asking for foreign intervention in terms of food or medicines. It is well known that in Kenya that flood in western Kenya and other parts occur at certain times hence it is quite unreasonable for us not to prepare by building dams only to get to a crisis at another time the same area lacking lack of water or food.
Water conservation reduces the amount of money used water in and missing other important needs such as health and education. If such money was used wisely me could be able to by better furniture in our homes or expand our factories rather than using all our incomes and profits paying bills. This would also make it easier for water supplying water to people have excess water to expand their services. In turn this means that we would not need to build more treatment facilities hence less chemical cost which would also mean less expenditure for such companies and maybe better salaries for its workers
The ways of conserving water vary from homestead or industry to another and are not exhaustible with our flexible minds. Domestically water can be minimized by first making water an expensive commodity like electricity that people can gauge wastage in bill charges and not in flooding in their backyard. Five plates can be washed in a litre of water and be rinsed with twice the amount if we used a container like a basin and not running water. A bath tub uses as much as forty litres in ones person’s cleanup exercise while such water can be used to bath two to three people using a shower. Water used to clean a family’s clothing in a week can be used can be used to flush the toilet for two days if it was reused. Simple statistics can be used to estimate how much water is wasted in a week. From our evaluation a family of four can waste as much as eighty litres of water if they used a bath tub and equally supply a family of the same number using number can use such an amount for two days. Can we then say are using so much water doing so little? A family is the basic unit of the society and hence if a society has to minimize the amount of water they use they must reduce it domestically. A family can be advised increasing the efficiency of taps and cleaning machines so as they could use less water or electricity. Electricity wastage in countries like Kenya relying almost entirely on hydroelectricity could as well see electricity wastage as water wastage and vice versa and then way the implication of one on the economy. Family members can make sure that they cut of power of water leaking pipes and report to the people in charge who on the other hand repair them as fast as they can. Car washes can be required by law to use efficient washing methods and not beside rivers where they pollute such water sources with soap and oil from cars. Those washing cars from home can in turn be taught on using water previously in cleaning clothes instead of using clean water all through and only leave the clean water to the rinsing. Members of religions like Islam that use water for cleansing at different times of the day can be advised to use alternatives where they exist. Tree planting should be made a world wide holiday to show the importance of trees in the world as a source of rain and the air we breathe and consequences of their reduction or disappearance.
Storage reservoirs can also be constructed in large quantities like in Kitui or Kajiado districts so as to improve water availability in certain areas where rainfall is uneven or below per. roof and ground catchments can be made necessary in architecture as we often wonder how much water can be collected in an hour’s time on some of the massive buildings and how many toilets can be flushed by such water. Run offs are great examples of flowing money that can be stored in dams to help in agriculture and other projects. Of all awareness we can get we will need to make people aware that water conservation must start with them if our campaigns to bear fruit.
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