By Amber Prinkey
Think about all of the times you’ve used water just today. Did you brush your teeth? Flush your toilet? Take a shower? Drink coffee? Water is an incredibly important part of our lives…and the lives of animals, too! So much of the earth is covered in water -71%! Way more water than land exists today but not all of it is suitable for drinking. In fact, only 3% of all that water is freshwater. Of the freshwater, 68% is locked up in ice and glaciers! We really need to be careful with the water that we do have access to so that all people and animals have enough. That’s where water conservation comes in.
There are very simple ways we can save water and maybe you are already doing many of these. But for World Water Day, why not challenge yourself to do one or two more?
• Take shorter showers
• Run only full loads of dishes and laundry
• Take only the water you need for drinking
• Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth
• Upgrade to low-flow faucets and showerheads
• Check for leaks in toilets and faucets
• Water your lawn only when it needs it and do so during the coolest part of the day
• Use a rain barrel to collect water for your plants
One of the rain barrels that sits near our backyard garden
