Introduction
Water is the elixir of life. Without it, Earth could not have provided shelter to life. Now, with the rapidly growing population and augmenting industrial activities, the availability of water is posing a challenge to the world. We in India believe in the saying, "Water is life." This very phrase simplifies the necessity of its preservation. Let us go through some of the essential techniques of water conservation and the significance behind them.
Why Water Conservation Is Important
The World Health Organization estimates that over 2 billion people live in countries with high water stress. In recent years, cities like Chennai and Bengaluru in India have faced perceptible water shortages. In 2019, Chennai witnessed its four main reservoirs running completely dry, thereby creating an acute situation for a water crisis. It has happened not only in India but also on global level and needs immediate proceedings.
Essential Water Conservation Techniques
Rainwater Harvesting:
The term "Rainwater Harvesting" is not new to India. It's an ancient Indian terminology known as "Jal Sanchayan." The system is quite simple, where the rainwater is collected and used for the same purpose before it gets into the aquifer. Recently, schemes like "Jal Shakti Abhiyan" have been tremendously promoting this technique. The 2019 mission aims to make water conservation a mass movement all across India.
Example: The city of Bengaluru has made rainwater harvesting compulsory for all new constructions. This has brought about a considerable improvement in the groundwater in certain places.
Drip Irrigation:
Agriculture consumes about 70% of freshwater in the world. Drip irrigation is one such method by which water is allowed to drip slowly to the roots of plants, thus saving water. Drip irrigation adopted by the farmers in Maharashtra for growing sugarcane resulted in considerable savings of water along with increased crop yield.
The Union Government had been propagating micro-irrigation techniques including drip irrigation, under the "Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana" (PMKSY).
Fixtures That Save Water:
The domestic consumption of water can be drastically lowered by using low-flow fixtures such as faucets, showerheads, and dual-flush toilets. WaterSense of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the United States promotes water efficiency products. It is estimated that if one out of every ten homes in the U.S. retrofitted with WaterSense-labelled fixtures, it could save roughly 74 billion gallons per year.
Water Recycling, Reclaiming and Reusing:
Grey water can be reutilized for all uses other than potable ones from water discharged by sinks, showers and washing machines. The NEWater initiative in Singapore recycles treated used water into ultra-clean, high-grade reclaimed water that meets up to 40% of the country's requirements.
Raise awareness and education:
Education in water conservation can really make a big difference. Awareness campaigns and programs in schools and activities targeting communities are very imperative. The "Catch the Rain" Campaign of Ahmedabad, India, is an initiative to catch the rain. It was launched in 2021 under the motto, "Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls."
Global Perspective
Though India is getting along decently on the front of water conservation, other countries are making dignified efforts. For instance, Israel transformed from a place with an inadequate supply of water to a place with surplus water supply. Australia also adopted stringent saving measures and created community awareness to help itself deal with the problem of frequent droughts.
Conclusion
By being mindful about our water use and saving it, we will be doing our part toward the global initiative of preservation for generations to come. Be it individuals, communities, or large governments, the world needs to come together to address the issue of water scarcity and make the future liveable and sustainable.