Water: The Solution of Life

INTRODUCTION

Water is the basic requirement of our body and thus life. Water is also named as ‘life’ because of being an important element for all the living beings. Noting can survive without water on the earth. Three-fourth part of the earth is water however only 2% of the water is usable for us. At some places in India, people face water scarcity and drought condition whereas, in other places, there is plenty of water available. So, the people living in areas with plenty of water must realize its importance and save water.


As we all know about  three fourth of the earth's surface is covered with water.it is mostly found in puddles,ponds, rivers,lakes and oceans.It is also present in air in the form of water vapour.But the most important thing pollution of source of water such as rivers,lakes and groundwater has resulted in deterioration or decreasing the quality of water available to us.


All life on earth needs water. Without it, everything would die. All of these watery places are home to many different plants and animals.Many different plants grow in and around water. They provide food,shelter and nesting places for all types of birds,insects and other water creatures.

 IMPORTANCE OF WATER

Its truly said water is the most essential thing for life.A person can live without food for many days or in weeks too but without water he can't.Many life processes in human or animals,such as digestion,absorption of nutients and its distribution too or in the process of excretion of body waste , all needs water.

About 70% of human body consist of water.In plants too water is essential for germination of seeds and for their growing process.Therefore in last we can say Water is the home for several plants  and animals and for humans too in many ways.Moreover it is used as a medium of transportation.



FACT FILE 

• Industries use water to make almost everything of our use. On an average the world's industries use four times the amount of water used by the world's entire population at home.
• One cannot live without water for more than 3 days.
• A dripping tap wastes 1200 litres of water in a year.

WHY SAVE WATER?

We are living in the time when we need to save clean water and use it according to our use only. People at many places in India and other countries are facing a huge water scarcity. They have to depend on the government water supply by tanks or some natural water reservoirs at long distance. They have to go a long distance on daily basis to arrange drinking water. They better understand the value of water than the people who have sufficient water supply in their areas. The situation of lack of water becomes very terrible for the people who don’t have enough water to fulfil their basic needs of drinking, bathing, washing, etc. 

India is one of the countries worldwide facing huge level water scarcity today. Places in India like Rajasthan and some parts of Gujarat are facing water scarcity where women and girls of the houses cover a long distance on barefoot to just get a pot of water. In some cities like Bangalore people have to buy water bottles worth Rs. 25 to Rs. 30 to drink clean water. People face more problems during summer months when the daily need for water increases. Recently, it is studied that around 25% urban population lacks availability to clean drinking water. In some areas, the privatization of water bodies is the main reason of water scarcity.

WATER SCARCITY
Due to increase in population  and industrialisation the demand of water has risen.This has led to the scarcity of water.The  overexploitation of underground water often results in the lowering of water table.The demand for water for industrial use will increase more than the demand for domestic use which often leads to scarcity of water.

NEED FOR CONSERVATION
Conservation of water means its wise and careful use or in short means not wasting water for maintaining its availability .We need to conserve water for our survival.We need to take quick steps and  make proper policies and laws for its conservation.This can be done by adopting several measures like :

> Plant trees and other vegetation.
> Avoid wastage of water and recycle where its possible.
>Store water for use when it rains .

There are some water saving technologies through which water can be saved like rainwater harvesting,encouraging watershed development,water recycling and preventing water from being polluted.     

SITUATION OF WATER IN THE WORLD

India

India experiences an average precipitation of 1,170 millimetres (46 in) per year, or about 4,000 cubic kilometres (960 cu mi) of rains annually or about 1,720 cubic metres (61,000 cu ft) of fresh water per person every year.[1] Some 80 percent of its area  India experiences rains of 750 millimetres (30 in) or more a year. However, this rain is not uniform in time or geography. Most of the rains occur during its monsoon seasons (June to September), with the north east and north receiving far more rains than India's west and south. Other than rains, the melting of snow over the Himalayas after winter season feeds the northern rivers to varying degrees. The southern rivers, however experience more flow variability over the year. For the Himalayan basin, this leads to flooding in some months and water scarcity in others. Despite extensive river system, safe clean drinking water as well as irrigation water supplies for sustainable agriculture are in shortage across India, in part because it has, as yet, harnessed a small fraction of its available and recoverable surface water resource. India harnessed 761 cubic kilometres (183 cu mi) (20 percent) of its water resources in 2010, part of which came from unsustainable use of groundwater. Of the water it withdrew from its rivers and groundwater wells, India dedicated about 688 cubic kilometres (165 cu mi) to irrigation, 56 cubic kilometres (13 cu mi) to municipal and drinking water applications and 17 cubic kilometres (4.1 cu mi) to industry.

 

USA

In the 19th century numerous American cities were afflicted with major outbreaks of disease, including cholera in 1832, 1849 and 1866 and typhoid in 1848.[17] The fast-growing cities did not have sewers and relied on contaminated wells within the city confines for drinking water supply. In the mid-19th century many cities built centralized water supply systems. However, initially these systems provided raw river water without any treatment. Only after John Snow established the link between contaminated water and disease in 1854 and after authorities became gradually convinced of that link, water treatment plants were added and public health improved. Sewers were built since the 1850s, initially based on the erroneous belief that bad air (miasma theory) caused cholera and typhoid. It took until the 1890s for the now universally accepted germ theory of disease to prevail.Recent water quality data find that more than 291,000 miles of assessed rivers and streams do not meet water quality standards. Across all types of water bodies ,states, territories, tribes, and other jurisdictions report that poor water quality affects aquatic life, fish consumption, swimming, and drinking water. In their 1998 reports, states assessed 840,000 miles of rivers and 17.4 million acres of lakes, including 150,000 more river miles and 600,000 more lake acres than in their previous reports in 1996.

SOUTH AFRICA

During Apartheid, the national government had no role in providing public water or sanitation services.

There has been tension between the goal of increased cost recovery enshrined in the Water Services Act on the one hand, and the constitutional rights introduced in 1996 and the policy of free basic water introduced in 2001 on the other hand. There have been a number of controversies on policies in the sectors, including about private sector participation, which was introduced in the mid-1990s, the practice of cutting off water or installing flow restrictors for those who do not pay their bills, and the installation of pre-paid meters.

In May 2014 it was announced that Durban's Water and Sanitation Department won the Stockholm Industry Water Award "for its transformative and inclusive approach", calling it "one of the most progressive utilities in the world".The city has connected 1.3 million additional people to piped water and provided 700,000 people with access to toilets in 14 years. It also was South Africa's first municipality to put free basic water for the poor into practice. Furthermore, it has promoted rainwater harvesting, mini hydropower and urine-diverting dry toilets.

UAE

Tap water is very pure in the UAE. In fact, it is too pure.In the UAE’s arid environment, groundwater is an important and precious resource for municipal and rural supplies, environmental protection, and social and economic development. However, most of the groundwater used in the UAE is brackish. Groundwater resources can be divided into renewable (shallow aquifers) and non-renewable resources (deep aquifers).Abu Dhabi has witnessed an explosion of wealth and population since its independence in 1971 and the oil boom of 1973. Before, groundwater was the only source of water supply. It was very scarce, since there is little recharge and most of the aquifers are highly saline. It was only through seawater desalination that the growth of Abu Dhabi became possible. Seawater desalination used thermal technologies that couple desalination with power production. Water was provided free of charge. The plants were initially owned and operated by the government through the Water and Electricity Department, and financing was provided by the state from oil revenues.

CONCLUSION 
Water is known as the elixir of life, so we should save it to save life on the earth. We need water for many purposes in our daily walks of life. So, we should understand the value of water drops and save it.