The availability of water will be one of the main issues of the 21st century. Water covers about 70% of our planet and is vital for all living things. 97.5% of that coverage represents saltwater, which is undrinkable by humans, and the other 2.5% is freshwater. However, of that 2.5% of freshwater, approximately 68% is trapped by the glaciers, so that leaves less than 1% (approximately 0.3%) as our supply of freshwater, which is either ground or surface water. This number seems alarmingly low, and with many in this world without access to drinking water, what we need to survive, we must modify our way of living and consume less in order to ensure that we can continue to have access to clean water.
The trend of water consumption in the 21st century is scary. Currently, in terms of litres/person a day, the per capita consumption of water in Canada is around 335L/day, about 300L/day in the US, and around 150 L/day in the UK. This represents a utilization percentage of 54% of the annual freshwater available for humans to be used. We may be thinking that these numbers aren’t a worry because this consumption pattern has remained constant throughout our recent past, but there may be a problem that will be encountered in future years.
Due to the expected increase in the world population over the next decades, the rate of water utilization could reach 70% of total freshwater by 2025 if the level of consumption per person stays constant. But, if less developed countries start to attain the level of water consumption of more developed nations, then we might be using more than 90% of the total annual freshwater available in 2025. Now, this is a statistic that leaves us in an alarming situation. So, what can we do to reduce our water consumption?
Let’s look at the different areas of water consumption in the residential domain. According to SoDCon, a comprehensive study of domestic water consumption patterns, in the United States, the highest usage of water for residential use was for toilets at 27.6%, followed by washing machines at 21.7% and showers at 16.8%. It’s not surprising to find toilets at the top of the chart for residential uses of freshwater when we consider the number of flushes that occur manually or automatically throughout the year which usually represents a volume of 6 litres of freshwater. If we want to reduce our residential consumption of water, we have to look at these areas.
In the toilet department, the best solution would be to implement a water saving device in the cistern, which is where the water is being stored, to reduce constant leakage throughout the day. And when you need to replace your old toilets, opt for dual flush models which use much less water. For the washing machines, use them only when they are at their full capacity. The same goes for dishwashers if you absolutely must use them. In the shower department, quite simply, take shorter showers of (5 minutes max), buy a timer to help you with this, and stay away from baths. All of these actions are absolutely painless and will go a long way towards conserving more of our most precious resource.
Clean water will only continue to be there if we take pro-active action to reduce our consumption levels and to be responsible.
- Étienne Lemay
