Water Conservation

Water Conservation Tae Wan, Ryuya, Fausti

Water Crisis • Water crisis is a term used to represent the situation of the current water resource availability in the world in relative to human demand. • The Earth has a very little supply of available water. This problem is often ignored by the public, as the oceans seems like a vast supply of water; however as the amount of energy necessary to convert salt water into usable fresh water can result in other problems, such as global warming. The only solution to confront water crisis is to use the water available wisely. • The current water crisis situation includes: • -insufficient access to safe drinking water for 1.2 billion people • -insufficient access to water for sanitation and waste disposal for 2.5 billion people • -Excessive use of groundwater leading to the conditions of soil degradation • -Pollution of water making it unsuitable for human use or for sustaining other life forms. • -The treatment of water as an economic good leading to conflicts over water Fig.2 Picture of water shortage from http://earthfirst.com/7-more-environmental-problems-that-are-worse-than-we-thought/ Fig.1 Map of water scarcity taken from http://www.energy-green.net/blog/articles/green-development/water-shortage-global-crisis.html

Water Conservation • The most basic and effective method of combating water crisis, as it works on a fundamental level to reduce the amount of water which is used, or polluted. • It is defined as the reduction of the water used or polluted throughout agricultural, industrial, or domestic processes. • Its ultimate goal is to: -Ensure a sustainable use of water, which would mean that the use of water should not exceed the natural replacement rate -Conserve the energy used for managing water through decreasing the amount of water used. -Conserve habitat for the local wildlife, through using less freshwater from the local ecosystem, and using less electricity to lower the demand for dams Fig.3 Water conservation poster taken from http://www.jointheevolution.ca/blog/2009/06/24/the-water-that-flows-part-2-general-water-saving-tips/

Industrial Conservation of Water • Industry uses 18,200 million gallons per day of water in the US. • The amount of water used or polluted in the industry can be reduced by intoducing efficiency practices, mainly: -Water Reuse/ Recycling -Cooling water recirculation Fig.4 Picture of indutrial pollution of water from http://www.treehugger.com/2009/10/11-week/ Fig.5 Picture of green polluted water from http://demeter-environmental.co.uk/about%20us.html

Water Reuse/Recycling • Water reuse/ recycling is a process where water used for one purpose is than used again for another purpose. • Water after being used by industry is not all polluted, as one of the biggest use of water by industry is to cool heat-generating equipment, which does not contaminate the water. • This makes the water used by industry useful for water reuse/ recycling. • Water used by industry can be used for other purposes such as: Landscape irrigation Agricultural irrigation Other industrial purposes Aesthetic uses (fountains) Fire protection • Water reusing is using water from one purpose to another, while recycling is the use of water for the same purpose, such as industry to industry. • Water reuse/recycling is useful for saving water as it lowers the immediate demand for surface and ground water. This makes it easier to make the use of water sustainable on the long run. • Water reuse/recycling helps reduce the amount of water supply/treatment facilities needed, reducing the amount of energy used for water. Fig.6 Photo of water recycling plant within a industrial factory from http://www.thermaxindia.com/Water-and-Waste-Solutions/Applications/Waste-Water-Treatment-Recycling.aspx

Cooling Water Recirculation • The cooling of heat-generating equipments through the use of water is the largest use of water in industry. One reason behind this is the use of the method once-through cooling, where the water is put in contact with a heat source to lower the temperature once, and is than discharged. • Water used in the cooling process can be reduced by using a water recirculating cooling system. This system uses the same water to perform several cooling operation through using a water cooler within the industry to cycle the water. • In contrast to the once-through cooling, the water recirculating cooling system can reduce the amount of water used through reducing the amount of water taken from the ocean or other bodies of water to meet the demand of the industry. • This is beneficial to the enviornment through conserving water, and beneficial to industry in term of finance through water savings. • This system can reduce the need of a industrial station for water by 300 gallon per minute, which conserves water and saves money.

Evaporating cooling towers is a effective method of using the heat lost when water evaporates to cool the water Fig.7 Daigramof evaporative water cooling towers, a system used in industry from http://www.geo4va.vt.edu/A2/A2.htm

Agricultural Water Conservation • Water irrigation • Growing population • Necessity of crops • Too much land to water • Case Study • Water conservation in California • Crops are draining water out of surrounding lakes • Solution is to use “smart irrigation scheduling”

Domestic Conservation of Water • One of the most common ways waters are recklessly used is in our own homes • One person averagely uses 68.3 gallons of water each day • The most common reason for this plethora use of water is because most domestic technologies available in our homes does not have control and is almost free flowed • But, this section of the presentation will show how simple methods and innovative technologies can cut down our daily use of water to almost 50%

Simple Steps • There are numerous easy steps to conserve water in your house: • Turn off your water when brushing your teeth • If you have a bath tub, only use 15cms of water • Take shorter amounts of showering time • Do not leave water running when washing your hands • Check periodically for water leaks around the house, since leaks waste water even when you’re not using them • When washing dishes, just fill the sink of water, and don’t leave the water running • If your house has an automatic dishwasher, set it to water saving mode

General technological conservation • Even though the change of a simple habit can conserve water, the biggest domestic water conservation comes from technological change in our household: • One of the biggest ways to conserve water is a whole is to plant a greywater system in a home • What this system does is that it segregates greywater from blackwater, which is the harmful and contaminated form of water • The greywater system recycles greywater by removing any organic matter in them • Greywater is clean enough to be used on plants and wildlife, which stops the need of sprinklers and hosing of plants and gardens

Commonly used technological conservation • The household technologies that most commonly use water are toilets, faucets, showers, washing machines, and dishwashers: • Our commonly used toilets use up to 3-5 gallons of water per flush • But, the most commonly used water-conserving gravity toilet uses only up to 1.6 gallons of water, which ends up saving 12 gallons of water each day • There are other toilet technologies such as the air pressured toilets, which only use 0.5 gallons per flush, and the compositing toilets, which use no gallons of water, but these are rarely used because it is economically not helpful • Air-pressured toilets are more expensive compared to the gravity toilet, that is why people prefer the gravity toilet • The compositing toilets need a lot of maintenance to avoid aerobic decomposition and odor, which also is a very expensive procedure • Common faucets use up to 3-7 gallons per minute, which uses around 12 gallons of water each day • The newly invented low-flow faucets only use 1.5-2.5 gallons per minute, which will end up saving 2000 gallons of water each year • Our commonly used showerheads use 3-8 gallons of water per minute • While the water conserving low-flow showerhead only uses 2 gallons per minute • Both low-flow faucets and showerheads use two washer and aerator system that slows down the flow of water

The common washing machine uses up to 40-50 gallons of water per wash • But, the front-loading washing machine only uses 18.9 gallons of water per wash • The front-loading washing machine activates horizontally, while the commonly used washing machine activates vertically • This will save around 3249 gallons of water per year • Dishwashers use 6-7 gallons of water per load • While an automatic water-efficient dish washer only uses 4.5 gallons of water per load • A recent and interesting water-conserving creation is the rain barrel system where when rain is on the roof, it runs down to a barrel, which is cover and sealed with a lid that disables mosquitoes from inhabiting and contaminating the water • This can be used to water plants and gardens

Fig.8 Picture of a greywater re-using system from http://www.toolbase.org/Docs/MainNav/NewBuildingTechnologies/images/grywtrCulvert.jpg

Fig.9 A picture of the structure of a low-volume faucet from http://www.icgov.org/water/faucetaerator.gif Fig.10 A picture of a commonly used low-flush toilet from http://www.goinggreen-athome.com Fig.11 A picture of a low-volume showerhead from http://www.ecoblog.co.za

Fig.12 Picture of the structure of an efficient washing machine from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/22799.pdf Fig.13 Picture of a water-efficient dishwasher from http://www.ukhomeideas.co.uk Fig.14 Picture of a rain barrel from http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uh164.pdf

Work Cited List • "Water Shortage (Water Scarcity): Global Crisis: Green Development, Sustainable Development." Green Energy, Eco-friendly, Sustainability, Electric Cars. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.energy- green.net/blog/articles/green-development/water-shortage-global-crisis.html>. • "Water Crisis." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_crisis>. • "Water Conservation." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_conservation>. • "7 (More!) Environmental Problems That Are Worse Than We Thought." EarthFirst. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://earthfirst.com/7-more-environmental-problems-that-are-worse-than-we-thought>. • "Industrial Water Use, the USGS Water Science School." USGS Georgia Water Science Center - Home Page. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wuin.html>. • "Join the Evolution » Blog Archive » the Water That Flows … Part 2 … General Water Saving Tips." JoinTheEvolution.ca - Organic Evolution. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.jointheevolution.ca/blog/2009/06/24/the-water-that-flows-part-2-general-water-saving-tips/> • "Weekly Archive for October 11, 2009." TreeHugger. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.treehugger.com/2009/10/11-week/>. • "Thermax | Water & Waste Solutions | Applications | Waste Water Treatment & Recycling." Welcome to Thermax - Home of Sustainable Solutions for Energy & Environment. Web. 08 Apr. 2011. <http://www.thermaxindia.com/Water-and-Waste-Solutions/Applications/Waste-Water-Treatment-Recycling.aspx>. • "Heat Pumps." GHP Technology. Web. 08 Apr. 2011. <http://www.geo4va.vt.edu/A2/A2.htm>. • "How to Conserve Water and Use It Effectively | Polluted Runoff | US EPA." Index | Water | US EPA. Web. 08 Apr. 2011. <http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/chap3.cfm>. • "Domestic Water Conservation Technologie." Federal Energy Management Program. Web. <http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/22799.pdf>. • "Household Water Conservation." College of Agricultural Sciences. IBSS. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. <http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uh164.pdf>. • Low-flush Gravity Toilet. Digital image. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. <http://www.goinggreen- athome.com/image-files/low-flow-toilets.jpg>. • Water-efficient Dishwasher. Digital image. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. <http://www.ukhomeideas.co.uk/images/bosch/logixx-sgs65l22.jpg>. • Low-flow Showerhead. Digital image. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. <http://www.ecoblog.co.za/wp- content/uploads/2010/04/shower.jpg>. • Burt, C., Canessa, P., Schwankl, L., & Zoldoske, D. (2008). Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California - A Commentary - . California: no publisher. • Irrigation – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrigation

Water Conflicts Arab Isreali - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11101797 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8619322.stm Nile - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8187984.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8682387.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4232107.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/454926.stm Water conservation http://practicalaction.org/water-and-sanitation/water_farming http://practicalaction.org/water-and-sanitation/rainwater_harvesting http://practicalaction.org/water-and-sanitation/multi-user-water-systems http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5670E/x5670e06.htm http://www.bswm.da.gov.ph/Files/PDFs/Practical%20and%20Low-Cost%20Soil%20and%20Water%20Conservation%20Technologies%20for%20Upland%20Farmers.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics Don’t forget to say what individuals can do in the home! Water Pollution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_pollution http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.rhine/ watch the video made in the early 1990s to set the scene for the Rhine then http://www.cleanganga.com/articles/mar3.php to see what the people did to clean it. For the Pasig: http://www.wepa-db.net/policies/measures/background/philippines/pasigriver.htm http://www.wepa-db.net/pdf/0710philippines/10_PRRC.pdf Affects of Dams on the hydrological cycle http://science.jrank.org/pages/1942/Dams-Impact-dams.html http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/1640 www.watercentre.org/education/programs/why-study.../case-study2.pdf look at page 10 and 11 for Snowy mountain scheme problems. Find out what they propose and have done to restore flow. Use page 223 of your text books to study the Colorado River. Waste Water treatment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_treatment start here or here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment http://www.wepa-db.net/pdf/0710philippines/10_PRRC.pdf some interesting images for the Pasig, Compare Manila with a city in an MEDC.

Water Conservation