Today is World Water Day and marks the start of the UN 2023 Water Conference, which aims to unite the world around solving the water and sanitation crisis.
Living in the rainy West Country, I never really understood why saving water was an issue. If you live somewhere wet, I imagine you probably feel the same. So, it’s time to get educated…
“The world is facing an imminent water crisis, with demand expected to outstrip the supply of fresh water by 40% by the end of this decade”
– The Guardian
“Today, 1.42 billion people – including 450 million children – live in areas of high or extremely high water vulnerability.” (UNICEF, 2021)
Reasons to save water:
Making water safe to drink, and cleaning waste water both use energy. It is estimated that 3-5% of total global energy consumption is used for water and waste water treatment. So by saving water, you also save the energy used to clean it! And because common forms of energy generation (coal, gas, nuclear fuels) have a large water footprint, you’ll also be saving even more water there.
Aquifers, reservoirs and rivers are in danger of running low. With a growing global population we need to think ahead. Preserving water now will save fresh water for future generations.
How to make a difference…
If you want to save water but don’t know where to start, here are a few tips:
- Watch this 2 min YouTube video with 8 water saving ideas
- Check out the 28 day Save Water, Save Energy challenge that I created for the free app Ailuna
- Contact your water company or join GetWaterfit to see if your water provider will give you free water saving devices (tap aerators/leaky loo detectors/low flow shower head/shower timers)
- Check out the UN World Water Day Be The Change pledge to make a list of personal commitments to stop the water crisis
- Read the Energy Saving Trust‘s page on water saving at home