Water is one of the most wonderful substances on earth. Abundance of water on earth makes it the only planet that can sustain life. We are not yet aware of the presence of water in any other planet.

Did you know?
Did you know that water makes up 60% of your body weight? Did you know that water constitutes 70% of your brain's weight? Eighty percent of your blood is water. Which is why you may go without food for a month. However, you will not survive for more than a week without water.

Most of the water on earth has existed from the beginning of the planet. New water is indeed formed on a much smaller scale through chemical reactions. Water covers most of the planet's surface. However, only 2.4 % of it is fresh water; the rest is saline or brackish water. Of the fresh water, 87% is locked up as polar or mountain ice. Of the liquid water, 95% is underground, 2% is in soil as moisture and 3% (0.009%) is in lakes and rivers.

Unmindful of these facts, we consume water without any restraint! Purified water that is sent to us is often misused for washing cars, pets, and drive ways!

It is indeed true that the planet is hard pressed for fresh, potable water. Rivers are drying up in summer. People have to dig deeper to find water as their bore wells run dry year after year. On the other hand, there is more water in some areas than what they can handle! We call that floods! For a few summer months, India reels under a drought. Then for a month or two, India is floored by floods. What a strange paradox!

Environmentalists and politicians often blame increasing population for all water woes. They warn against the "exploding" populations in the Third world. However, more water is wasted in the developed world than in the developing world. An average American uses 480 litres of water every day while millions in the poorer regions of the globe uses less than 12 litres! There was a time when rich nations boasted about the amount of paper, glass, plastics, water and electricity they consumed. They evern regarded higher consumption of these resources as an indicator of "development!" Now, it is time to take some blame. Poorer countries too should take a lesson or two from such bad examples.

Now here are the major reasons for our water woes: wastage and mismanagement of water!

Did you know that a quarter of all the clean water that enters your home is used to flush toilets? One toilet flush takes up 10 or 12 lires. That's how most people handle the "problem" of 200 or 300 ml of urine! A urinal, on the other hand consumes much less water.

A single load of laundry uses up 160 litres of water. A ten-minute hi-power shower sends upto 200 litres of water down the drain.

Many people like to leave the tap running when they shave or brush their teeth. Brushing your teeth with the tap running uses up 16 litres of water. Brushing with the tap turned off uses just 1 litre of water.

We should never use potable water to wash vehicles, animals or drive ways.

Indians are in the habit of washing kitchen utensils and plates under running tap water! Here are some tips to save water in the kitchen sink:

Remove oil and food particles from vessels by wiping with tissue paper. This will lead to less soap use and lesser water for rinsing.

Soak plates in warm soapy water kept in a large vessel or sink. Then, wash it by taking water collected in a large barrel or portion of sink.

The country receives 400 million hectre metres of rain and snowfall annually. (That is, enough water to cover 400 million hectres with water to a depth of 1 meter.) Another 20 mham flow in as surface water from neighbouring countries. This input sustains 180 mham of river flows in India.

What do we do with this precious input? We just let it run downhill or down a river into the sea!

If every household will harvest rainwater from their rooftops for two months, the collected water will supply their water needs for a year!

If we build check dams in catchment areas, enough water will seek into the ground to recharge ground water. This will prevent floods. This will also ensure that our rivers don't run dry during summer!

The JNU campus in Delhi was a 1000 acres of rocky hills (part of Aravalli range) with small bushes. Today, it is a lush green campus which attracts over 129 species of birds and around 60 species of butterflies! How was this achieved? Carefully located check dams, rainwater harvesting, recycling and reuse of water, and the nurturing of plants and trees changed the campus. There are several such stories of ecological restoration. Your city or community or church could come up with innovative solutions to manage water wisely.