Dear Friends,
I made an environmentally conscious observation. I took stock of how much water I was using and then found some easy ways to conserve. The water supply is plentiful at the moment in Chennai – where I live and there are times when droughts and shortages can call for water usage restrictions. While we are certainly amongst those who enjoy free flowing water, that is not the case for a large part of the world.
Currently, about one sixth of the world's population doesn't have access to clean safe water, and that number is likely to increase for many in the future. That is because the amount of water on the planet is unchanging while the amount of safe drinkable water is declining.
The good news is that we can all do our part to conserve water by taking simple measures and such steps can be relatively easy and pain-free. The first and most sensible thing to do is to make sure that any leaks or drips in your house are fixed to avoid constant water loss.
Other tips involve waiting for a full load of laundry before running your machine or wetting your toothbrush when brushing your teeth and then turning the water off until you are ready to rinse. Another idea is not to turn on the shower until you are ready to get in or even get your body wet in the shower and then turn the water off while you soap up, and then turn it back on to rinse off. You could also invest in a water saving shower-head that provides a nice strong spray but uses less water than traditional shower-heads.
In the middle of the summer, a heightened time for gardens to be in need of water. There are also water conservation ideas outside the home. Instead of using just a simple hose, connect a sprayer to your garden hose so that when watering plants or washing the car, you save one water usage. Avoid over-fertilizing your lawn and if you use low spray sprinklers early in the mornings and late in the evenings, the water has less chance of evaporating. Or even better, use a cistern to collect rainwater for watering your plants. Thanks to the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu who insisted on rain water harvesting some 5 -6 years back itself. And the benefits of these tips are to reduce your water usage.
There are many more ways to conserve water. I hope that my ideas have sparked some enthusiasm. Also, feel free to share the ideas with others
