JOIN USWith summer at its peak, there is the spectre of water shortage looming across most cities in the country, including Bangalore.
Water is something most people take for granted, but just imagine opening your tap to no water supply for days?
The problem is becoming a reality across the localities that have mushroomed up beyond the city limits.
The demand for the supply of clean potable water has grown beyond the capabilities of the government to supply. We who live in the urban areas tend to require almost double the quantity of water used by our rural brothers.
Water bodies are shrinking rapidly and the unchecked tapping of ground water has led to drying up of the water table. There is no point blaming the BBMP for short supply or in some cases no supply for several days in certain localities of the city. Self help can also help us help ourselves and the old adage of “waste not, want not” comes to mind.
If each of us is to consider the quantum of water that we waste every day, and decide in our own small way to cut back on that, I am sure it will go a long way in helping to save this precious liquid.
Use a mug of water and preferably collect the water in a bucket. Avoid using the tap in the basin and worse, leaving the water flowing. Using a mug will help you cut back on the quantity of water used for both brushing your teeth and washing your face.
Bucket baths
Rapid urbanisation in Bangalore and comfort levels growing high in the posh new flats on sale in the city, bath tubs, jacuzzis and shower heads have been installed in bathrooms. They consume huge quantities of water which are finally poured down the drains and wasted. In the old days before the advent of showers we all took a bucket bath.
Returning to that concept of a bucket per person for a bath will drastically reduce the excessive waste of clean potable water. Few of us know that we use almost 60 gallons of water per day, per person.
Laundry and dish washing
Wash only full loads of laundry and skip a day if you do not have enough dirty clothes to run a cycle. When buying a washing machine shop carefully and buy those that allow you to adjust the water levels according to the load. Don’t load up the machine with half clean clothes unnecessarily.
Avoid buying clothes that require a separate wash. The water from your rinse cycle can be collected and used to flush and wash toilets and water your garden. While cooking one can cut down on the number of utensils being used in the cooking process. Table ware can also be at a minimum with less is more being the adage.
Fewer plates and glasses used will mean less water being consumed to wash. If using a dishwasher, avoid rinsing the plates and dishes before loading. Instead scrape off remnants of food and load the machine completely before turning on the wash cycle.
Gardens
Plants in the garden need to have mulch put around their roots to retain moisture longer. Spread leaves, grass clippings or strips of newspaper around the roots to retain moisture longer. Mulching helps to prevent weeds growing as well and drinking up the water.
Drip irrigation is best if you have a large garden with ornamental or fruit trees that need watering.
Check the plumbing
And finally, what will help the most to conserve water is the use of low volume control devices in shower heads and flush tanks. Teach your children to close faucets tightly to avoid a drip after use.
Check all taps and flushes in the house for leaks periodically and install newer models of flush tanks which cut back on the use of water.
Remember, one of the biggest ways precious water is lost is by a leaky faucet. According to research, one drop per second adds to 2.500 gallons per year. That's enough water to fill 160 cycles of an automatic dishwasher.
Advent of monsoons
With the advent of the monsoons, precious rain water just runs off our roofs and into the sewage lines and drains.
Scientists have been urging us for a long time to make the effort to collect the rainwater run off from our roofs for use in the garden or for cleaning our cars and toilets. Rainwater harvesting existed 4000 years ago in Palestine and Greece.
The Romans built cisterns and paved their courtyards to collect rainwater for use along with the public supply from aqueducts.
Unfortunately today because of the dust in the atmosphere and other man made pollutants the rain that falls to the earth is not as sparkling clean as it seems.
So the collected water can be cleaned by purifiers for potable use, or it can be used for purposes other than cooking and drinking to save the clean water supplied in the taps.
Rain water can also be used to recharge our extremely depleted ground water table by way of collection in recharge pits, trenches to avoid the run off of water, piped into existing wells, and the recharge of bore-well shafts in the city.