“Water! Water! everywhere, not even a single drop to drink” is a famous line from our school poems. Can you remember? This statement will become true within five decades if we keep on exploiting the water the same way we do today. Let us jump into this blog to know more about water and the unknown facts about water all around. Water, an essence composed of the chemical component’s hydrogen and oxygen and existing in gaseous, liquid, and solid states.
To explain, water technically is a substance made up of the chemical element’s hydrogen and oxygen, existing in all three states (gas, liquid, solid). It is one of the most vital resources that are available on the planet. A tasteless and odorless liquid at room temperature has the vital ability to dissolve many other substances.
In simple, the clear liquid that has no color, taste, or smell, that falls from clouds as rain, forms streams, lakes, and seas, and that is used for drinking and washing, in fact, every human activity needs water in any form.
Natural sources of water:
The natural sources of water include the following
- The water cycles
- Harvested rainwater
- Rivers and lakes
- Groundwater
- Desalination
Apart from these, there may be other water sources; however, these five sources play a significant role in bringing water to us. Sun heat evaporates water; it forms masses in the atmosphere, which is clouds. The water droplets that evaporate and descend to the earth in rain, hail, or snowfall and enable life to exist. Plants absorb water from the soil and give a specific part of it back into the environment through transpiration; evaporation, precipitation, and perspiration make up the water cycle.
Need for water:
Water is one of the essential life needs. About 0.3% of the world’s resources are usable and functional. Water scarcity already exists in many parts of the world, with more than one billion people without adequate water to drink. This condition is one of the most vital indicators of why we should be very sensitive and conscious of our water resources. As the world population increases, the need for water also increases; in fact, it doubles. However, because of effects and especially human activities, water resources are decreasing, polluted, and still used unconsciously. Water use has doubled between 1940-1980, with the danger of water shortages in many countries such as Turkey, India, etc. Therefore, it is vital to take and implement measures as soon as possible, and we have to use water resources carefully.
Water is a fundamental substance to sustain vital activities of humans such as nutrition, respiration, circulation, and excretion. Also, water is a life space and one of the primary substances in the formation of the life environment.
Is it vital to consider water a critical resource?
Though water is a renewable resource, and we are getting water in abundance today, it is important to consider water as an inevitable source of nature and preserve it as much as possible to enjoy the resource without any demand.
However, we are already in a situation where many areas in the world are in water scarcity and demand. It is entirely because of human behavior and the nuisance we have created. The exploitation of groundwater resources should be regulated so as not to exceed the recharging possibilities, as well as to ensure social equity.
Water becoming an endangered ecosystem:
Population growth, accompanied by increased water usage, will severely reduce water availability per person and create problems on biodiversity in the entire global ecosystem. Other significant factors that limit water availability include rainfall, temperature, evaporation rates, soil quality, vegetation type, groundwater exploitation using electric resistivity meter, and water runoff. Moreover, serious difficulties already exist in fairly allocating the world’s freshwater resources between many countries. It has been surveyed that water consumption has increased seven times in the last century alone, which is quite surprising.
4 Potable water resources globally; irregular urbanization, excessive population, water contamination, water waste, increase in greenhouse gases, and excessive industrialization are increasingly damaging water resources over time. Pollution of already small quantities of usable and potable water resources, uncontrolled use of pesticides, improper agricultural practices, waste of water, climate changes. Due to global warming, insufficient knowledge of water, and unconscious reasons such as consumption mean that all living things are deprived of water, which is the source of life. Water resources are the natural resources that are extremely important globally. For a country to be considered rich in water, the annual water amount per capita must be at least 8.000-10.000m3. Water resources create habitats for various plants and animals, contribute to water and chemical cycles, and despite all, water resources are among the most endangered ecosystems.
Charity begins at home:
If you are still reading the blog, you might have been threatened by the above statements on water becoming an unavailable resource in the future. As we all know, an individual’s change can bring a nation’s change. Everything begins with us. Let us start to contribute as much as we can to preserve water.
- Regular checking in homes for any water leaks.
- Recycling the water from the kitchen to car wash and gardening.
- Try to avoid over drafting of groundwater. Excessive pumping causes the water table to lower.
- Rainwater harvesting is one innovative way to preserve water and save it for later.
- While building homes, it is important to get groundwater only from the Government allotted limits.
- Educate your children about the importance of water and make them use it only when it is necessary.
Apart from this, there are so many ideas and ways that have emerged today and the technology to save and preserve water and water resources to make it available to future generations. However, the individuals must bring in the change.
I hope this blog helped you to know more about water resources and the importance of conserving water. Don’t wait for the well to drain to know the seriousness of water….!
Let us water smarter from today….!