Today, March 22, marks World Water Day and in many developed and developing countries, having a sustainable supply of clean water is still an issue. Currently, 2.1 billion people live without safe drinking water at home; affecting their health, education and livelihoods. Even in the United States, regional droughts have worsened as population growth has strained existing water supplies.
In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly announced the inaugural World Water Day and this year, the main goal is to raise awareness of the link between water use and energy, along with delivering the key messages that water supply (a finite resource) is decreasing while demand (from a growing population) is rising, and that saving water means saving energy.
At Skanska, we are committed to proactive environment management. Today, we are sharing personal conservation practices because small actions can mean a big difference when it comes to saving water. Why not challenge our colleagues and peers to save water on World Water Day and create new habits for the long-term?
Water saving ideas include:
1. Run your washing machine or dishwasher only when it is completely full.
2. Install aerators on faucets and low flow shower heads, which can cut water use at those sources in half.
3. Insulate hot water pipes to reduce waiting time.
4. Repair leaks in your toilet, including a leaky tank seal, right away as that can result in hundreds of wasted gallons of water in just a couple days.
5. Replace old toilets with modern low-flow models can cut this usage (and your bill) by up to two-thirds. However, if you can’t replace your toilet anytime soon, you can still reduce the amount of H2O your toilet uses with this handy trick: put a brick in your tank. No kidding, by putting a brick in your toilet tank, you will reduce the amount of water needed to fill the tank, but it won’t affect flush power. Only do this for old toilets.
6. Set up a rain barrel at the end of your downspout to collect roof runoff. You can put this on your plants or lawn. Imagine the savings if every building captured rainwater for re-use, rather than letting it run off into wastewater systems.
7. Stop buying bottled water! It takes 3 liters of water to make every 1-liter bottle of water, before the H2O is even put it in.
8. Water the lawn very early in the morning or the evening to minimize evaporation.