Water, water, water.....

Water, everywhere. Pools, streams, creeks, ponds, lakes, seas, rain, puddles...water can be found all over, even in the driest deserts. And without it, we couldn't survive.

So why waste it? We all need water. It is totally pointless to waste water, and wasting does harm. That tiny trickle that kept coming out of the faucet because you were too lazy to turn it off completely? Yeah, according to USGS website, that wastes(no joke) an entire gallon of water in one day. And that is assuming the faucet does 20 drips per minute, on a 1/4 millimeter faucet. Yours may drip much more. Shocked yet? How about this quote from the EPA's website:
'Leaks can account for, on average, 10,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, which is enough to fill a backyard swimming pool.'

And another quote from the EPA: '10 percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.'

So now it's quite apparent that leaks that go unfixed are huge water wasters. Let's now look at the statistics for water wasted for other reasons, like in the shower. If you want to take a long soak, a bath may actually be less wasteful. It may seem worst at first glance, gallons of water in the tub, but believe me, if you know how much water goes down the drain during hour-long showers..Before deciding to take a bath or shower, look realistically at how long you will be in there. Are you washing up to go to work in 20 minutes? OK, then, take a shower. 
Are you going to spend an hour in there because you need to relax? Seriously consider that bath.

Need more? How about..The garden hose? No playing with it while watering. The garden hose is one of the biggest water consumers. A singe hose can waste more than six gallons per minute. Gah. That's more than you need to drink in 24 DAYS. Yikes.
And here's one more EPA quote: 'Each person uses 80 to 100 gallons of water per day, on average.' Note that that is for an American Household. 



So. Seen enough? Good. Now, how can you reduce your waste of water?

1. Take shorter showers.

2. Have leaks fixed professionally. Yes, professionally. Even if you think you can do it, don't. You may think it's fixed, but there's a chance that it's not fixed, and you don't realize it until it's wasted another half gallon.

3. Don't play with that hose too much. It uses up water fast, especially while on a strong setting.

4. Use the public pool. Believe it or not, using your own pool uses more water.

5. Just be overall water-concious while doing "everyday" things. Before doing a load of laundry, stop and think about whether you could wait until there is more laundry. Doing small loads wastes more than large loads. But don't use this as an excuse to slack off.

And when you use the washing machine. Think about how much water your washing machine uses, and wash the dishes by hand if you can do it without using a ton of water.

Remember: Statistics are general facts. Don't lose sight of the amount you hurt our environment, and what you can do to stop it.

We have got to Save this planet now. This is the time for action. You're not alone. If we all work together, we can fix the harm we've done.