Access to clean water is essential for human life and health, but many still lack it. Water conservation, pollution prevention, and harvesting are key methods. Planting trees and improving infrastructure can also help. Industrial waste is a major source of pollution.
Access to water is essential for human life and health. Many people still don’t have access to clean water. There are, however, numerous ways to address the widespread shortage of usable water. The three main means of increasing access to water are water conservation, prevention of pollution of water resources, and water harvesting. Other ways are groundwater recharge and improvement of municipal water systems.
Water harvesting usually involves harvesting rainwater or condensing water into the air. Rainwater harvesting can be as simple as placing a single rain barrel under a downspout and as complex and expensive as building huge dams to hold millions of cubic feet of water. Condensers range from plastic devices that provide small amounts of water for plants to large pieces of machinery that can provide access to water for numerous people.
Water conservation is also key to improving access to water. Most of the water is used for agricultural purposes. Methods such as drip irrigation greatly reduce water waste in conventional agriculture. Less conventional forms of farming such as aquaponics can also be beneficial. Aquaponics requires approximately 80% less water than soil-based agriculture.
Groundwater recharge can be done in several ways. One method involves using rainwater ponds, which allow collected rainwater to slowly seep into the ground, subsequently raising the water table. Another method is to use rain gardens composed of native low-water plants. As with rain ponds, rain gardens trap water and let it recharge from groundwater.
Planting trees helps maintain or restore the water cycle. Areas suffering from a large amount of deforestation often notice reduced rainfall. Trees also help prevent soil runoff in heavy rains. The washed-out soil does not pollute rivers or other water sources.
Another important method of increasing access to water is to reduce pollution of water sources. One of the main sources of water pollution is industrial waste. For example, the textile industry uses large amounts of water to process their products. In doing so, they also produce large amounts of waste water. Improving the textile manufacturing process would use less water and produce less pollutants and wastewater.
Municipal water scarcity can sometimes be addressed by improving the quality of infrastructure. Very old infrastructure will lose a lot of water due to leaks and other causes. Updating infrastructure is often quite expensive, and some cities are reluctant to pay the necessary money.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
