Welcome back to my mini-series “Reducing your Ecological Footprint One Step at a Time”! This week is all about water conservation, how to do it and why it’s important. Stay tuned to find out how you can continue to help save the planet along with your bank account.
70% of the earth is made up of water, yet millions of people lack access to clean water. This is because only 2.5% out of all of earths water is drinkable water coming from freshwater streams, pools, and 1% from glaciers which are melting due to rapidly warming temperatures. The rest of Earth’s water is the saltwater in our oceans which are currently unfit to drink. That being said, it is crucial for us to conserve what little fresh water we have left in order to sustain life on this planet, being that humans, plants, and animals all need it to survive. Below is a list of effective and easy ways to reduce the amount of water you use on a daily basis.
- Take shorter showers
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Showers can use anywhere from 6 to 45 liters of water per minute. If you typically take a 15-minute shower, you are using 90-675 liters of water every single time you shower. That’s A LOT of water. A good way to train yourself to take shorter showers is to set yourself a timer and try to beat the clock. It can even become a game to try and get a shorter time every shower. See, sustainability is fun!
- Turn the sink off when brushing your teeth
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It is such a social norm to keep the faucet running when brushing your teeth, however, it is a HUGE waste of water. For people who brush their teeth for a couple of minutes-which is expected for good dental hygiene, dozens of liters of water are literally going down the drain. Turn the tap back on only when necessary, and you’ll save so much water.
- Wait for full loads to do laundry
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This one’s for my lazy friends out there. We all have those weeks where we let our laundry pile up in the corner of our room to the point where it seems like it might have a mind of its own, and that’s okay! Tell your mom the next time she yells at you that you’re conserving water. Doing full loads of laundry reduces the number of loads you have to do, ultimately saving the water used to wash the clothes. Simple, effective, and less work for all.
- Fix any taps that constantly drip
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Constantly dripping taps are not only annoying to listen to but waste up to 15 liters of water a day, for no purpose at all! Investing to get this fixed will save you money on your water bill in the long run, and our lovely planet.
Reducing your water use might seem daunting at first, but after a few weeks, you’ll hardly notice a difference. But our planet will, and she’ll thank you.