Water equals life because without water there is no life. Water constitutes two thirds of human body weight: the human brain consists of 95% of water; the blood contains 82% of water; and people’s lungs are made up of 90%. That is why people cannot live without water and are in constant need of it. The same can be said about animals and plants. In other words, all living organisms depend on water. And though water covers 70% of the earth’s surface, there is still a need in it. There are several reasons for it. Firstly, not all water on the earth is drinkable. More than 97% of all water is seawater in the oceans (“Why Is Water an Important Resource?”); so, it cannot be used for drinking. And secondly, not all drinking water is safe enough to be used. More and more water reservoirs are getting contaminated with toxic substances which make natural water harmful rather than life-giving and purifying. In order to survive, people should start taking the problem seriously and find ways how to replenish the earth’s water resources and, if possible, purify contaminated ones.
Water is said to be polluted when toxic substances enter water bodies, such as lakes, rivers, oceans, etc., and get dissolved in them “lying suspended in the water or depositing on the bed” (Garcia). These toxic substances greatly lower the quality of water, often irrevocably. However, there is something that can still be done to save the planet and life on it. It is common knowledge that the greatest pollutants of the drinking water are “city sewage and industrial waste discharge” (Garcia). So, people should start with themselves. Realizing what disastrous effect common litter thrown into lakes or rivers can have, people should be careful and always take litter to bins. Besides, people should also bear in mind what they throw into toilets and sinks because these things get through sewage systems to water reservoirs, too, and then contaminate the drinking water. Such things may seem unimportant on the global scale, but they do matter and contribute a lot to keeping the earth’s resources clean. Moreover, these things are really feasible and do not cost people anything.
Industrial waste is a more complex problem which must be solved on the federal/state level. Much stricter laws must be introduced to control and punish those who go on violating regulations concerning industrial waste discharge. Many enterprises, especially in developing countries, try to avoid paying for expensive filters that would prevent the emission of the industrial waste from their plants into the environment. Such enterprises go on using old and almost inefficient filters which provide no prevention. As a result, the industrial waste from their facilities gets into water reservoirs and contaminates them. Without knowing it, people living in the area continue to use the water which is hardly drinkable. Only fear of losing more money for fines or even a threat of imprisonment can stop law-breaking manufacturers from polluting the nature. So, if the problem of industrial waste can ever be solved, it is more up to law-makers and law-enforcement authorities to manage it.
There is one more thing that common people can do in order to save earth’s water resources. It is saving rather than wasting what comes to them for free. In other words, people can collect water that comes onto the earth in hail, snow, and rain. To accomplish it, people need so-called catchment reservoirs in the form of dams or tanks where rainwater or melting water can gather. Dams are usually excavated at the lower part of a valley so that rainwater can flow down and gather there. Tanks are placed where appropriate. For example, the rainwater which falls on the roofs of houses can be “collected using roof guttering leading through a pipe to a storage tank” (“Water – Its Importance and Source”). Such reservoirs as dams and tanks are especially useful for agriculture as farmers can use this natural water for watering the plants that they grow or they can give this water to farm animals to drink. It is a great method of saving water resources and getting necessary water supply in the areas where water is not freely available. Pure water in such areas can be found through wells or bores. To get the ones, people drill holes in the ground deep enough to get access to a body of water. Then with the help of pumps and pipes they can “get the water up to the ground” (“Water – Its Importance and Source”). Usually water found in such a way is pure and drinkable; so, people experience no shortage of unpolluted resource.
So, considering the significance of such a resource as water, people should be very economical in using it. They should put into practice all feasible projects that can help them get access to new resources without damage to the environment. However, the problem of water lack in nature is aggravated by the fact that many water resources are extremely polluted because of people’s negligent attitude. People consume water, but they often do not show enough respect to the resource which provides this water. Sewage and industrial water pollution is observed everywhere. If nothing is done, people and nature will soon have no pure water at all. The most feasible solutions to the problem are the ones which ordinary people can accomplish themselves. These are control over sewage waste and litter that they throw away. Besides, having dams and tanks, people can avoid wasting water in cases when rainwater or melting water can be used instead. However, the greatest contribution to the solution of the problem under consideration can be made only on the governmental level. These are law-making and law-enforcing authorities who can efficiently prevent industrial waste discharge by making manufacturers use appropriate filters which will stop industrial waste from getting both into the water and air.
Works Cited
Garcia, Raul. “Water Pollution.” WWF Global. WWF, n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. <http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/webfieldtrips/water_pollution/>
“Water – Its Importance and Source.” The Department of Health. Commonwealth of Australia, Nov. 2010. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. <http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/ohp-enhealth-manual-atsi-cnt-l~ohp-enhealth-manual-atsi-cnt-l-ch6~ohp-enhealth-manual-atsi-cnt-l-ch6.1>
“Why Is Water an Important Resource?” American Geosciences Institute. AGI, n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. <http://www.k5geosource.org/1content/1sc/water/>
