Vijay Kumar Sharma
Water is a natural resource which we cannot grow or create. Water touches every aspect of life. Water is important for sustenance of human, animal and aquatic lives, maintaining ecological balance and for economic and development activities of all kinds. Every Country requires safe drinking water for basic needs, adequate water for agriculture and industry and for the ecosystem. Most of the earth’s surface is covered by water, and most of the human body is composed of water, but water has become a problem now. Ensuring optimal, economical, equitable, and sustainable use of water resources has become a matter of great public importance in present circumstances.

WORLD water DAY

In order to increase the awareness of the people towards the importance of water in various fields of life and to promote the awareness among the people about the importance, need and conversation of water the United Nation including member nations celebrate 22nd March every year as World Water Day by organizing variety of events and activities such as visual art, theatrical and musical celebrations of water, excursions to the local ponds, lakes, rivers and reservoirs, symposium at local, national and international level over water management and safety, distributing messages through TV and radio channels or internet, educational events based on the importance of clean water and conservative measures, competitions and so many activities.
As for as the country is concerned India possesses 16 per cent of the world’s population but just 4 per cent of its water resources. The current water resources are more than sufficient to meet the demand, but the rising consumption will aggravate water scarcity as population, food production, industrialisation and living standards continue to rise. The availability of replenishable water resources is reaching to crisis levels.  However, water shortage has already become a serious and recurring source of concern for a large number of people in different parts of the country and for a number of the major metropolitan areas. Only 70 per cent of the people in urban areas have access to basic sanitation services. A large number of rural habitations remain without any identified source of safe drinking water.
India’s water crisis is also attributed to many causes which include poor water quality resulting from insufficient and delayed investment in urban water-treatment facilities, dwindling groundwater supplies due to over-extraction by farmers, lack of Government planning, increased corporate privatization, industrial and human waste and Government corruption. Leaching of chemical fertilizers is polluting drinking water supplies. The problem of urban water supply is also due to poor and leaky distribution networks leading to large amounts of “unaccounted” water.
There is no single solution to the issue but we need a multi-dimensional approach to deal with this problem. A blend of traditional knowledge and modern science is needed to manage this scarce resource. As large part of Indian Territory is dependent on southwest monsoons to fulfil its water requirements and due to erratic and uncertain monsoons, there is an urgent need to manage this scarce resource in such a way that it can sustain ever increasing demands coming from households, industry, and agriculture.
Whereas the Government should modernize urban water-distribution, promote watershed development, strengthen state pollution control boards to enforce effluent standards, encourage extraction of groundwater in a cooperative way and help in developing and promoting a water conservation ethic among children and adults, the masses can also contribute by following simple practices in their daily lives to increase water use efficiency i.e. by reducing the amount of water used per unit of activity and by minimising the wastage because ‘water saved is water produced’.
Some simple practices, if adopted in daily life can help a lot in the conservation of this sacred commodity a lot:
* Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or garden, or cleaning.
* Turn off the faucets when brushing your teeth, shaving or and don’t waste water while washing your face.
* Operate automatic dishwashers and clothes washers only when they are fully loaded or properly set the water level for the size of load you are using.
* When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink or basin with soapy water. Quickly rinse under a slow-moving stream from the faucet.
* Take short showers. Get clean and get out. Taking a shower uses much less water than filling up a bathtub. A shower only uses 10 to 25 gallons, while a bath takes up to 70 gallons.
* If you have a lawn, water it in the early morning or late evening when it’s cool outside. Watering when it’s hot and sunny is wasteful because most of the water evaporates before being used by the plants.
* Close faucets tight, and make sure that they are no leaks anywhere in your home. If your toilet has a leak, you could be wasting about 200 gallons of water every day. That would be like flushing your toilet more than 50 times for no reason.
* Store drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting the tap run every time you want a cool glass of water.
* Washing your bike or car with a bucket and sponge instead of a hose saves a lot of water. A hose can waste 6 gallons per minute if you leave it running.
* It is our social/moral responsibility to save the water bodies as groundwater gets recharged through them. Do not throw garbage, sewer, polythene, plastics, etc into the water bodies to stop them from getting polluted and to maintain their beauty.
If we try to do one thing each day, that will result in saving lots of water. Don’t worry if the saving is minimal. Every drop counts. And every person can make a difference. Start Saving Water in Home Everyday!

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