Unsustainable Use of Water

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April 9, 2020

Section 1: Domestic use of water and why it is unsustainable

In homes, water wastage occurs in several ways, and it mostly occurs in the kitchen. This wastage occurs by people allowing the unnecessary running of tap water in kitchen sinks, bathrooms, gardens, lawns, and washing the car. In the bathroom, people leave the water running when brushing teeth, shaving, and taking a shower. Water is also wasted in the bathroom and kitchen sinks by leaking taps. Some toilets also flush more water than required, therefore wasting water in this manner. Excess water also gets used during laundry. Every home in the US uses approximately fifty to seventy gallons per day, out of which 15% of it is wasted (Kummu et al., 2016).

Many people are aware of the importance of water, but they may not be aware of the responsibilities they have to conserve water. Water conservation should begin at home where simple activities such as shaving can take up to 20 gallons of water. A person can use up to 10 gallons while brushing their teeth, 2 gallons gets used when washing hands. Taking a continuous shower can take up to 12 gallons. Bathing by the use of a bathtub takes up to 36 gallons. Toilets use the most amount of water at 20 gallons. The second-largest users of water in the home are washing machines and showers at 15 and 13.3 gallons consecutively. With careful use of showering can only take up to 4 gallons of water. Using a dishwasher can take up to 16 gallons of water while washing by hand requires only 5 gallons. A family can save up to 40% of water if they use water responsibly in activities such as gardening, watering the lawn, washing garages and walkways (Grogan, Wisser, Prusevich, Lammers, & Frolking, 2017).

Section 2: why the Current Domestic Use of Water Is Not Ecologically Sound, Economically Feasible and Socially Equitable

The availability of water is essential to preserve the lives of living organisms. Plants and animals need water to be able to perform biological activities. Water also serves as a habitat for many living organisms. Water is also essential because it enables natural processes such as the hydrological cycle to occur. The community also uses water for domestic purposes and recreation, for example, in swimming pools and water parks. Water also gets used in the economic sector, especially in industries where they use it in certain stages of production. The total water available on earth is below, and 97% of this water exists as oceans. Freshwater, which is mostly used by humans and other living organisms, is at 3%. However, it is essential to note that 85 % of freshwater exists as glaciers (Kurunthachalam, 2014).

Today, we are at risk of the water table receding due to development, population increase, climate change, global warming, and irresponsible use of water due to people’s negligence. Water usage has increased in all sectors, including domestic, agricultural, electricity generation, and public use. This increase there even though rainfall has been decreasing over the number of years. According to the current water usage and its availability, the availability of freshwater will soon get compromised. The availability of freshwater gets further compromised by pollutants existing in freshwater, which makes the water unusable (Cosgrove & Loucks, 2015).

The population has been increasing globally in the past 100 years, causing an increase in per capita consumption of blue water from 358km3 per year during the 1900s to 1500 km3 per year during the 2000s. However, not all countries have registered an increased use of water during this period. Some states have remained stable, while others have reduced their consumption. Countries that have maintained steady use are those located in Southern Africa and Southern America. Countries located in the Middle East, South Asia, and North Africa have registered a decrease in their use of water. In North America, there is a decrease in trend on the west coast, while the east coast experiences an increase in trend in the consumption of water (Kummu et al., 2016).

Total water consumption has increased due to an increase in population, and this has led to a rise in the number of people experiencing water scarcity. In the 1900s, only 200 million people faced conditions of water scarcity. Still, this number has increased by 58% in the 2000s, were people estimated to be living under the condition of water scarcity are 3.8 billion. People experiencing water scarcity live in the eastern and southern parts of Asia, the middle east, and the North African countries. South America, North America, Southeast Asia, and the Australia-Pacific have the lowest populations that experience water scarcity (Grogan, Wisser, Prusevich, Lammers, & Frolking, 2017).

Section 3: Decision-Making protocol

Section 4: Alternatives to Achieve Sustainable Use of Water

Adaptations can involve focusing on ways to increase the production of water or to reduce the demands in the goods and services provided by water. We can increase the amount of available water through the desalinization of sea and ocean water, reduction of evaporation that is not productive, and through the introduction of physical water transfers. Countries should also look into increasing their storage capacity for seasonal water. Countries also consider reducing their per capita water consumption.  It is possible to reduce per capita water consumption by efficiently conducting irrigation, reducing the wastage of food, reducing some water-intensive goods, and reducing the leakages in all public supply systems. (Kummu, et al., 2016)

We can also be able to reduce the consumption of water by storing surface water, harvesting rainwater, and protecting water catchment areas. The adoption of the drip method in irrigation is useful in ensuring the effective use of water. Water used domestically can get reused by going through the process of recycling. Evaporation and transpiration can get reduced and the recharging of groundwater. Generally, to mitigate water scarcity, measures need to be put to stabilize the population, countries need to ensure that they supply water sustainably, and reduced water usage (Cosgrove & Loucks, 2015).

Section 5: Evaluating Alternatives

1. Reducing the Amount of Water Used

In times of drought, the supply of water should get reduced to about 5-15%. The use of water should also decrease in gardens, lawns, driveways, nurseries, garages, sidewalks, crematories, paved ways. Artificial waterfalls, swimming pools, fountains, and washing of cars should also be banned. People should also adopt responsible use of water, for example, using a mug to brush teeth instead of running water. Families can adopt to the responsible use of water by installment devices that can save water in old equipment. They can also purchase new water-saving equipment and household appliances. This equipment includes modern toilets that have a dual flash system. Toilets with dual flush systems use about 25 liters of water. They can also take part in activities such as repairing leaks, recycling their wastewater and collection and storage of rainwater (Kurunthachalam, 2014).

The benefits of reducing the amount of water used are that more water will get saved. The world today is facing various environmental challenged, including the scarcity of safe drinking water. Drinking water is reducing due to human activities that include the wastage of this resource. Humans have also indirectly caused the shortage of safe drinking water through an unsustainable increase in population and pollution. Pollution has particularly contaminated freshwater resources and caused glaciers to melt, and the water is eventually ending up in oceans. By reducing water consumption, we are ensuring the availability of this resource to future generations. The cons of this alternative are that people will have to change their habits to something new which may include putting a financial investment to adopt this sustainable move (Tsai, Cohen, & Vogel, 2011)

Rain Water Harvesting

Harvesting rain water is very efficient to use in homes. Families can use this water instead of letting it fall to the ground only for it to evaporate later. The government should subsidize equipment used in rainwater harvesting to encourage many people to adopt this move. Equipment for harvesting rainwater include ducts for intercepting the rain. In this unit, filtration takes place, a well-plumped overhead storing roof, and a pump to pump the water to different locations of the house. People use rainwater to do things like watering the garden and the lawn; people can use it to take showers and in the toilets. Homes that practice agriculture on a small scale can use it on their farms. Families that practice agriculture can harvest rainwater by digging ponds, that can be used as a reservoir where they can draw water for irrigation (Zavala, Prieto, & Rojas, 2018).

The advantage of harvesting rainwater is to provide an additional source of safe water. By using rainwater, people will reduce their over-dependence on government-provided water, which is already on high demand and can sometimes get rationed. Using rainwater is cheaper because it comes freely as compared to government-provided water were one has to pay for it. The disadvantages of rainwater are that it can be chemically contaminated either by pesticides or other poisonous gasses, which quickly dissolve in rainwater droplets up in the clouds before it rains. As a result, the water can be toxic and acidic, especially in industrialized countries, where a lot of poisonous substances pollute the air (Tamaddun, Karla, & Ahmad, 2018).

Water recycling

Water rationing is a way of conserving water in an urban area. This method is standard in most countries. It encourages responsible use of water. Such kind of regulations is known as prescriptive regulations. Another example of such control is the use of reclaimed water in the watering of golf fields, parks, and medians of roads. It can also be useful in cemeteries, industries, flushing toilets, construction, mixing concrete, and creating artificial lakes. The recycled water can also help make fountains, irrigation, and for protection against fires. Industries can reduce their use of water by reusing the water in areas that do not require the use of high-quality water, for example, in cooling. Instead of disposing of it, this water can then re-circulate to and perform the same function of cooling (Angelakis, Asano, Bahri, Jimenez, & Tchobanoglous, 2018).

The advantages of water recycling are that it saves the use of safe drinking water. Recycled water can be useful in many circumstances except for drinking. Recycling also saves money because the same water used after one activity gets used in a different activity. Water recycling is an efficient way of sustainable use of water. A disadvantage of this alternative is that it is not very popular around the world because it can be quite an expensive project to implement (Voulvoulis, 2018).

Section 6: Preferred Alternative

The preferred alternative is reduced water consumption because it can get implemented at an individual level. It is also financially cheaper to implement and very effective because everyone, including children, can practice it. Water recycling is quite expensive, and rainwater can be unsafe.

Section: 7 Measures Taken to Achieve Maximum Sustainable Outcomes

• Having a sustainable population increase that the earth can comfortably bear. Having a sustainable population increase will ensure that natural rehouses are not quickie depleted
• Reducing the consumption of scarce resources through responsible use. Water should get used responsibly
• Increasing the availability of water. The increase can get done through desalinization of seawater, rainwater harvesting or recycling

Section 8: conclusion

Water should be used sustainably due to its ecological, economic, and social gains. Economically, sustainable use of water, especially in industrialization, saves money through the reuse of water. Socially, using water responsibly ensures that everyone gets equitable access to clean and freshwater. Ecologically, safe water saves ecosystems from damage caused by pollution

References

Angelakis, A., Asano, T., Bahri, A., Jimenez, B., & Tchobanoglous, G. (2018). Water ReuseReuse: From Ancient to Modern Times and the Future. Journal in Environmental Science. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2018.00026

Cosgrove, W., & Loucks, D. (2015). Water Management: Current and Future Challenges and Research Directions. Advanced Earth and Space Science, 51(6). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016869

Grogan, D., Wisser, D., Prusevich, A., Lammers, R., & Frolking, S. (2017). The Use and ReuseReuse of Unsustainable Ground Water. IOP Science. Retrieved from https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa5fb2/meta

Kummu, M., Guillaume, J., de Moel, H., Eisner, S., Florke, M., & Porkka, M. (2016). The World’s Road to Water Scarcity: Shortage and Stress in the 20th Century and Pathways Towards Sustainability. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/srep38495

Kurunthachalam, S. (2014). Water Conservation and Sustainability: An Utmost Importance. 5(2). doi:10.4172/2157-7587.1000e117

Tamaddun, K., Karla, A., & Ahmad, S. (2018). Potential of Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting To Meet Outdoor Water Demand in Arid Regions. J. Arid Land, 68-83. Retrieved from htts://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-017-01107

Tsai, Y., Cohen, S., & Vogel, R. (2011). The Impacts of Water Conservation Strategies on Water Use: Four Case Studies. Journal of The American Water Resources Association, 687-701. Retrieved from 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00534.x

Voulvoulis, N. (2018). Water ReuseReuse From A Circular Economy Perspective and Potential Risks From An Unregulated Approach. Current Opinion in Environmental Science and Health, 32-45. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2018.01.005

Zavala, M., Prieto, M., & Rojas, C. (2018). Rain Water Harvesting As an Alternative for Water Supply in Regions of High Water Stress. Water Supply, 18(6), 1945-1955. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2018.018