Water is precious and is very much essential for life to be in the universe.
We find water everywhere in abundance but to find water fit for drinking is difficult and has to be purchased. Let’s understand some of the interesting facts of the chemical substance called water.
When one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen meet in a complex chemical process we get water. Water existing in three different states – gaseous (vapor or steam), liquid and solid (ice). About 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water out of which only 3% is fresh water and the rest 97% is saline water of the oceans, seas etc. Fresh water is available from lakes (87%), Swamp (11%) and rivers (2%) and Lake Baikal in Siberia is the single largest source of water.
Although pure water is said to be tasteless but human and animals have developed senses which enables them to evaluate the potability of water e.g. salty etc. The term used to describe the study of movement, distribution and quality of water is called Hydrology. The weight measure gm as defined in 1795, France is the weight of a water cube of 1/100 of a meter at the temperature of melting ice.
The human body contains 55 to 78% of water and hence a healthy person requires about 6-7 glass (2 litres) of water per day.
Power is also generated from water when the water drives a turbine connected to a generator and the electricity generated is called hydro electricity. Pressurized water can be used for cutting and is called water jet cutters.
Today we are feeling the pinch of water shortage. According to a global study it has been estimated that by the year 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water shortage. Today the agricultural sector uses around 70% of the fresh water available and with growing population and the demand for more food the agricultural activities shall increase leading to more consumption of fresh water. Considering this serious there to life in the planet it was decided that the year 2005-2015 shall be observed as ‘Celebrating water for life: The international decade for action’. For this purpose the date 22nd March of 2005 was initiated as the ‘World Water Day’ and is yearly celebrated. Organizations across the globe celebrates ‘World Water Day’ to create awareness about this very important and basic need.
The theme for World Water Day 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’ – exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century.
We at our individual level have a much more large role to play.
Starting for our home we should educate our children, other family members, servants about the need for conservation of water and reduce its wastage. As many noble steps for conservation of water and reduce its wastage are available in the textbooks, it is our duty to instil these into habits of our wards, the neighborhood people. It is easier said than done, but if we make them understand the cost and effort undergone by the organization and the people involved in the process they will definitely try to sustain the habit and try to propagate the same habit among their friends and near and dear ones.
There are numerous small measures which we can adopt, without losing anything to save water. What is needed is an urge from within to feel it and act. By the grace of the Almighty and as a gift of nature, water is abundant in our place. However, we at home try to minimize the use of flush, garden the plants in the evening, reuse the water used for washing vegetables for watering plants, immediately report leakages and many other such small steps. This is done to make the kids realise the importance of conservation of Water, the essence of life.
Once we are able to realize the need, we shall not only be able to instil but also sustain these measures for water conservation and prevention of wastage.
The choice is ours…we need to act…and the best place…our home itself. With our head high we can say that we too contributed in the desired way…
