Water

[thePR]

Originally Posted by HighPlainsDrifter73

I'm not sure what the point is. Water gets naturally recycled by nature. The water isn't destroyed. It's either reused by humans after being artifically cleaned or naturally cleaned by seeping down through the ground - unlike oil that's used up / gone after it's burned.

1. Not all water is cleaned and reusable.

2. Looking at one idea, showering, while not even mentioning the use/waste of water in any other way.

[Thomas R.]

It is true it's not all reusable, etc.

I think some might be thinking "water" in general terms and in general terms water isn't disappearing. However usually what's meant is clean fresh water. There are aquifers that are running out and areas that are becoming drier.

Still I don't think this effects all places the same. I'm not even sure conserving in Michigan is necessarily going to help Sudan or even Los Angeles. Also I believe one of the most major factors in water use is agricultural or industrial not personal use. So I didn't mean it's not issue, but I think it varies. Also that things like improved purification or desalinization might matter as much as conservation or in addition to it.

[Chicago60614]

Well of course water isn't "used up", but that's basically irrelevant.

A certain area will receive a certain amount of water on average every year. We've created technology and geographic features to maximize the storage of that water for ourselves.

So say a place gets 1 million cubic meters of water a year. That's their supply. They can either use the entire thing to water their lawns for 3 weeks and then spend the rest of the year with no water, or they can create plans and laws to restrict their usage to be within that 1 million cubic meters and carry on living.

Once you flush the water down the toilet it begins its journey towards the oceans, and it's "used up" as far as you're concerned. Unless you're going to run down the road and gather it back up downstream and use it again, you have to wait until it falls from the sky again or have enough saved up in reservoirs (that all had to fall from the sky at some point).

It's all about supply and demand in your watershed. Who cares how much water is in the pacific if you're living in Colorado.

[miamiman]

There are many cities throughout the country where water shortages are a non-issue. Why do people need to conserve water in those cities? Because it's the "green" thing to do? It's not like many cities are on the brink of running out of water. The only major cities that I can think of that have or currently are experiencing water shortages are Atlanta and Las Vegas. Simple rainwater harvesting would help Atlanta tremendously. With as much rain in Atlanta gets in a year, there is no reason for the area to be running low on water. Las Vegas? Well that's another story.

My main point is that there are many small transformations that cities can make to conserve water. This idea that people need to cleanse themselves with antibacterial gel or flush the toilet once a week to avoid water usage is excessive and unnecessary.

[Jeromeville]

Surface water (such as lakes and rivers) have got an inherent problem in that they are pollutable. Water that is easily accessible is easily polluted. Many water-rich states (in the Northeast for example) have had serious water contamination problems in the form of silting, sewage, chemicals, etc. And then polluted water falls from the sky in the form of acid rain.

Some of the worst water wastage in America is happening in the New York City reservoir system. The pipes bringing the water down from the Catskills are very old and in some spots, are leaking over 30 million gallons of water A DAY.