Drop by drop makes up an ocean! So wasting water drop by drop will eventually clear up the ocean—food for thought. We are lucky to live in a drought-free environment where our taps have running water for household activities.
Imagine living somewhere where the wasting water problem has a significant impact on our daily lives. There are societies where the water problem is so immense that people are dying just because they dont have access to fresh water.
There are many waste water problems, but the major concern is that water is limited and the water treatment is expensive. The entire ecosystem depends on it and wasting water means wasting money.
There are three approaches we can look at when we talk about waste water problems, Anthropocentric, Biocentric and Ecocentric; let’s discuss them in detail.
Related article: 10 Interesting Facts About Water Pollution That You Should Know
Anthropocentric View Point- (Putting Humankind as the Central, Most Important Element of Existence)
So, this viewpoint is not from a selfish basis but one that focuses on humankind and the effort to keep our species alive, sustained and flourishing. We are wasting water abundantly to fulfil our needs but ignoring the bigger picture as we want to ensure our taps are running. Currently, 36 countries are living in extreme stress when it comes to the fresh water problem. Technically, leaving the cold tap on for several minutes so that hot water pours out is basically wasting water and a precious resource that millions of people do not even have access to. Continuing this habit will leave the country to have a severe water problem in the future.
Biocentric View Point- (The View that Humans are No More Important than Any Other Living Thing)
Besides humans, other species rely on fresh water as a vital component of their survival. Overusing fresh water in household settings means less water availability for agricultural use. As we divert more fresh water from aquatic environments to supplement agriculture, many plants and animal species are threatened or can become endangered. Despite our many attempts to separate man from nature, we are indeed a part of the ecosystem (the biosphere); therefore, wasting water would initially affect them as well. We all are aware of the number of animals that are now near existinction; if not already gone, this number will only increase as there will be no more water availability and they need fresh water to thrive.
Eco-centric View Point – (The View that the Earth, the Ecosystem and Everything in it Hold Equal Importance)
We are wasting water while our demand for water increases (as population and standards of living increase globally). We need to supplement the lack of fresh water by pulling it out of aquifers or groundwater supplies in which the regeneration rate is lower than the extraction rate. The unsustainability of this practice decreases our long-term water availability as we cannot use what we don’t have! If we continue wasting water, we are wasting a precious resource which means less for us to use in future. The process is long and expensive, including extraction, filtration and transportation; while this sounds easy, a lot of labour is required to follow these steps. It also requires non-renewable fossil fuels, which can deplete over time, contributing to carbon footprint in the future.
Related article: Sewage Pollution: Everything You Need to Know
Wasting water problem can have disastrous effects of water scarcity. Some water problem may arise when we overuse water and do not think about the ecosystem and how it will affect aquatic life in the future. By wasting water, we are contributing to many bills and, most notably, putting an enormous strain on our planet’s resources. You can save a lot of money just by not wasting water; to do that, you need to monitor your fresh water usage. As said earlier, drop by drop makes an ocean, and you can save it drop by drop as well, so every drop counts for our blue planet.