The study of reaction mechanisms is crucial in Chemistry Topics as it provides insights into the step-by-step pathways of chemical transformations.
How Can We Conserve Water? And Discuss the Ways to Conserve Water?
The earth has a tremendous amount of water. But most of the water on the earth is in oceans. The ocean water is highly saline (highly salty) due to which it cannot be used directly (for drinking, irrigation and in industry). Only a small fraction of water available on the earth is fit for use by human beings, animals, and plants. This is available in rivers, lakes, ponds and as groundwater. Since all the areas of the country are not near the rivers, so river water is not available at all the places in the country. The lakes and ponds cannot hold much water in them. The groundwater is available everywhere but when it is used too much for agriculture and other purposes, the level of ground-water decreases drastically and hence it cannot be used anymore. From this discussion we conclude that the water available for our use is very limited and it is decreasing day by day due to over-usage.
As the population is increasing rapidly, the number of people using water is also increasing rapidly. Due to this, the demand for water is increasing day by day. Also, more and more water is being used in agriculture for producing food and by the industries which manufacture a large variety of products for our use. All these factors are leading to shortage of water in many parts of the world including our country. In fact, in many cities we can see long queues of people carrying containers for conecting water at many places. collecting water (see Figure). Keeping in view the shortage of usable water, it is essential that water is used carefully. We should take care not to waste water.
‘To conserve water’ means ‘to save water’ by using it carefully, wisely and by preventing its wastage. It is essential to conserve water because the amount of usable water on the earth is limited and there is scarcity (shortage) of usable water for various purposes.
We can conserve water (or save water) at home by minimising its wastage. The various ways to conserve water or minimise the wastage of water at home are as follows:
- Turn off the tap immediately after use. Get the leaking taps repaired immediately.
- Take bath by filling water in a bucket and not directly under the flowing tap.
- Wash the utensils by filling water in basin and not under the running tap.
- Use the water from washing rice, vegetables or fruits for watering the plants at home.
- Do not use a full flush from the cistern in the toilet when a half flush is sufficient.
Every person should make efforts to conserve water by minimising its wastage in various ways. Remember : Water is precious. Every drop counts ! We will now describe rainwater harvesting to overcome shortage of water.