Clean Water and Sanitation

Why is Clean water and sanitation important? Is it even a real issue or is it just a fantasy of our mind?

Let’s look at what the statistics say, 844 million people still lack the basic drinking water, 2.3 billion people struggle to ensure basic sanitation. 892 million people still in this so called 21st century practice open defecation, 80 percent of waste-water goes without being treated, water stress affects more than 2 billion people, over the last century we have lost over 70 percent of our total wetlands, this tells us something beyond just numbers, according to many researches, if we keep on going with the rate we are going, by the time 2050 comes the world will be in severe water crisis, our children and grandchildren will have to buy drinking water at ridiculously expensive price. Let us alone take an example of one of the world’s most religiously and ethnically diverse country, India.

According to the sub-national Water Stress Index, an index made by London-based risk analytics firm Verisk Maplecroft, tells us that India is the 46th country which is at high risk.
This index measures the risk on the basis of the water consumption in the sectors of industries and farm, inside the households and the available natural resources in rivers, lakes and streams.
According to the study, the cities which are at a major risk are Bengaluru and Surat which are experiencing the highest surge in the demand for water. The study clearly tell how Chennai is at the peak of water scarcity.The United Nations also estimates the growth of Delhi’s population from 28 million people to more than 43 million by the year of 2035, an enormous rise of 52%, while Chennai’s population can rise to 47% over the same period of time.

What can be done?
One must remember that no one person, one entity, one organization, one country or one business can SAVE WATER. It has to be a collective effort from everyone, starting from our houses to your workplace to public places.

Strategies Businesses can adopt to SAVE WATER

 Go low-flow – Whether restroom or break room faucets or showers,low-flow restrictors must be always outfitted, emits less than 1.5 gallons of water per minute compared with 2.2 gallons for standard faucets
 Get a water audit – Companies that use huge amounts of water should seriously consider getting professional help in reducing their water consumption. A commercial water audit helps in examining how much water a business uses and provides in detail the information on where the opportunities lie for using less (and saving money).
 Purchase water-efficient equipment – Various kinds of equipment are used by businesses which consume a lot of water, but today many water-efficient models are there in the market which can be used.
 Reduce landscape water use – Lush green lawn require dozens or hundreds of gallons of water a day to keep it looking so. Consider planting native landscapes or other less water-intensive alternatives.
 Engage and inform employees – Every employee plays a role in water usage, so this is a prime opportunity to get employees involved in the business’s green efforts.

It takes not much to bring a small change in ourselves and only small changes can bring about a major difference in society, which will be for the society and for the future of this beautiful planet called EARTH, it all starts at home.