The most consumed & the most abused resource – WATER

Water is most consumed drink in the world

About 68% of Earth Fresh Water is trapped in the Glaciers which melt and provide us with potable water via rivers. This is precisely the reason why Global Warming is such a serious issue as it is melting the natural reserves of drinkable water and we may not have enough in future when to fulfill the requirements of the entire world.

Ground water contains 30% of fresh water. It is the water that is present below the Earth’s surface in cracks and Soil pore spaces , sand and rock.

It is the water that flows through the shallow aquifers which is nothing but a unit of rock that can yield usable quantity of water. Basically, it is the porous substrate that contains fresh water.  You must have heard the term ‘Water Table’, it is underground boundary between soil surface and groundwater.

Water Wastage:

A drip from the Tap can waste up to 75 liters of water per day which equal to the amount of water an one person can drink for 25 days that’s almost a month if we consider the consumption at 3 liters which is usually the case.  And an addition to that a trillion ton of water gets evaporated in the sun daily so we better save every drop of the thing that keeps us alive and active.

Forms and types: 

Water is of 2 types Salt Water and Fresh Water. Fresh water is potable whereas Salt water can be drinkable if desalinated means removal of salts and minerals from Salt Water.

Water is the only substance on Earth that is found in all three forms Liquid, Solid and Gas.

Benefits : 

Our body is full of water, 90% of our blood contains water, 83% of Lungs contain Water, 64% of skin contains water, Muscles and Kidney are 79% water and brain & heart contain 73% water.

Cartilage-a smooth elastic tissue that is found in the joints of bones and disks of spine which protects the ends of the bones at the joints and nerves contains 80% water and hence we should drink a lot of water to avoid reduction in the shock absorbing ability of the joints and to avoid joint pains in future.

Drinking Water regularly keeps our mouth clean and the water in the skin keeps our temperature under control by perspiring when the body gets warmer than the required temperature and cools it off.

Adequate consumption of water keeps the blood pressure under control as it control the blood to become thicker.

Water Water everywhere very less to drink :

Earth contains 71% and 97% is Saline Water which cannot be consumed. Fresh Water is just 2.5% of total available water on Earth of which 2% is frozen in Glaciers and Icebergs, 0.5% on as Fresh Groundwater and less than 0.01% of the same as Surface Water in Lakes, Ponds and Rivers.

Countries with least and with enough Water Resources:

Brazil has the largest reserve of Freshwater compared to any country in the world followed by Russia, United States of America and Canada. Water that has less than 500 parts per million know ppm of dissolved Salts is called Freshwater considered suitable for drinking. Precipitation of atmospheric water vapour that goes to lakes, rivers and groundwater, makes the Freshwater, and it is also formed by melting Snow.

China ranks No.1 when it comes to consumption of Water followed by United States of America, Brazil, Russia and Mexico.

Water Conservation : 

Water requirement versus the availability has always been a matter of concern for the world and more important the way we could conserve the same for current future generations and that also means judicial use of the most important resource we have.

Israel is the leader in Water Conservation and the credit goes to efforts of its citizens and Government. It recycles 85% of the Wastewater and 50% of its farming needs will soon be taken care by the recycled water.

Another country that should be lauded for its Water Conservation Efforts is the United Kingdom that is a leader in Water Metering Technology that allows the households to control their water usage and are also incentivized for installing smart Water Saving Technologies at home.

Water dominating Industry :

Agriculture is the industry that uses the approximately 70% of the Groundwater.

India accounts for maximum consumption of Water for Agriculture as India is still an Agriculture dependent economy with 60% of the Indian Working Population directly or indirectly related to the Industry and this industry contributes 18% to India’s GDP.

Water Crisis :

With the pace at which the World is consuming water for human and industry consumption, half of the world’s population will be living in Water Stressed Areas by 2025 and that will lead to lot of displacement as well. There will a gap of 40% between demand and supply , in this case, we should say availability by the year 2030.

According to the World Health Organisation,  2.1 billion, that is, 201 crore people do not have access to safely managed water source, this is the combined total population of India and France

844 million people, that is, 84 crore 40 lac people do not have access to basic water source &

263 million people, that is, 26 crore 30 lac people have to travel more than 30 minutes to get access to water which is hardly clean.

Water takes care of Earth :

Earth is 71% Water and Water in turn helps regulate its temperature and make it worth living. Oceans that contain 97% of Earth Overall Water act like Conveyer Belts as it transports Warm Water from the Equator to the Poles and Cold Water from the Poles to the Topical Regions leading the currents that regulate the Global Climate.

This neutralizes the uneven distribution of Solar Radiation. The surface of earth near the Equator absorbs more Solar Radiation than a square meter at high altitudes.

An Iceberg contains enough water for 1 million or 10 lac people :

An Iceberg which is 3000 ft × 1500 ft × 600 ft contains approximately 20 billion gallons or 75 billion litres of Fresh Water which can take care of the Water needs of 1 million people for 5 years.

 

 

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