Save Our Water

Water is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life
In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. On Earth, it is found mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground in aquifers and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. A very small amount of the Earth's water is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.
Water on Earth moves continually through a cycle of evaporation or transpiration (evapotranspiration), precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land.

Water pollution is one of the main concerns of the world today. The governments of many countries have striven to find solutions to reduce this problem. Many pollutants threaten water supplies, but the most widespread, especially in underdeveloped countries, is the discharge of raw sewage into natural waters; this method of sewage disposal is the most common method in underdeveloped countries, but also is prevalent in quasi-developed countries

"Australia is the driest populated continent on earth, (Antarctica is drier, but does not support the population of Australia), but we are the greatest consumers of water per person.The average annual rainfall in Australia is 469 mm/yr, well below the global average of 746mm/yr. 70% of our continent is classified as desert or semi-desert, with little or no precipitation. On average, each Australian consumes around 100,000 litres of fresh water per year. When you factor in the water used to produce the food we eat and the products that we use in everyday life, we are each responsible for using about 1 million litres of water per year, or a total of about 24,000 GigaLitres. That's enough to fill Sydney Harbour 48 times over! About 70% is attributed to agricultural irrigation, 9% to other rural uses, 9% to industrial uses and 12% to domestic use"
Remember, with all our one small thing we do can create a large impact:).
Lets's save our water in kitchen!
• When washing dishes by hand, don’t rinse them under a running tap. If you have two sinks, fill the second one with rinsing water. If you have only one sink, stack washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a pan of hot water.
• Use the minimum amount of dishwashing detergent (when washing dishes by hand) as this will reduce the amount of rinsing required.
• Use a plugged sink or a pan of water. This saves running the tap continuously.
• Use only as much water as you need in the kettle to cut your electricity costs at the same time.
• When boiling vegetables, use just enough water to cover them and keep the lid on the saucepan. Your vegetables will boil quicker and it will save you water, power and not to mention preserving precious vitamins in the food.
• Flow controlled aerators for taps are inexpensive and can reduce water flow by 50%.
• Don’t use running water to defrost frozen food. Ideally place food in refrigerator to defrost overnight - this is also the healthiest option.
• Where convenient and appropriate, try to capture ‘warm-up’ water for use on plants, rinsing dishes, washing fruit and vegetables, or other cleaning tasks.
• Check for leaks and, if there are any dripping taps, replace washers or other components as required. Dripping taps can waste 30 – 200 litres of water per day, so make sure they are turned off properly.
• Insulate hot water pipes. This avoids wasting water while waiting for hot water to flow through and saves energy.
• Make sure your hot water system thermostat is not set too high. Adding cold water to cool very hot water is wasteful.
Let's save our water in the bathroom!
• Three star rated showerheads use no more than 9 litres of water per minute, while old style showerheads use 15 – 20 litres per minute. If you shower for six minutes, a water efficient showerhead can save up to 50 litres of water for each shower, or up to 20,000 litres of water per person per year.
• Consider an instantaneous water heater if your water has a long way to travel from the water heater to the bathroom. But talk to a plumber before you do to make sure it will work adequately with your three star shower.
• Use a bucket to collect water while waiting for the shower to get hot
• Take shorter showers. Limit showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down, and rinse off. Remember that shorter showers also save on energy costs associtated with heating water.
• Shaving your legs in the shower takes more time and hence uses more water. Fill a container with warm water and use it to shave your legs before you get into the shower - then you only need the running shower to rinse off.
• Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth. A running tap uses about 16 litres of water per minute. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for rinsing.
• Don’t rinse your razor under a running tap. Fill the sink/basin with a little warm water for rinsing. This is just as effective as running water and far less wasteful.
• Look for information about the water efficiency performance of any product when making a purchase, however also check to see if the marketing claims are independently verified or substantiated.
Let's save our water in laundry!
Of all water consumed in the home, about 15 - 20% is used in the laundry. This high utility room is major consumer of not only water, but also energy and detergents.
• Look for clothes washers that have a four or more star rating (WELS label) and seriously consider buying a front loading washer.
• Look for information about the water efficiency performance of any product when making a purchase, however also check to see if the marketing claims are independently verified or substantiated.
• If you are buying a new clothes washing machine, choose one with an economy setting or a four star water conservation rating.
• Adjust the water level to suit the size of the wash load - some new water efficient models will even do this for you.
• Wait until you have a full load before washing and you’ll save 10 litres of water for every wash and cut your electricity costs as well.
• Remember that some old washing machines can use up to a bathtub full of water per load.
• Use the sud-saver option, if your old machine has one, when you have several loads to wash.