World Water Day 2022: Six Ways to Conserve Water and Make a Difference

It’s World Water Day! Today is a great reminder for all of us to take a step back and think about the crucial role water plays throughout our lives. In honor of this year’s World Water Day theme, “Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible”, we encourage you to learn about the importance of groundwater and how to protect it.  

Groundwater is described as an "invisible resource", but did you know it accounts for almost all the liquid freshwater in the world? Some 2.5 billion people depend solely on groundwater to meet their daily drinking and other domestic water needs. In addition, it sustains ecosystems, maintains the baseflow of rivers, and prevents land subsidence and seawater intrusion. Yet groundwater is out of sight and out of mind for many. 

While groundwater is invisible, its impact is visible everywhere. The demand for groundwater continues to increase due to population and economic growth across the globe, which puts a strain on groundwater reserves that cannot regenerate in a lifetime. And due to climate variability and quality deterioration, shared groundwater resources are also at risk.    

World Water Day Facts 

Here are a few facts about water from the Environmental Protection Agency.  

• The average American household uses about 88 gallons of water a day. 
• Each U.S. household wastes 900,000 gallons of water per year on average. 
• Outdoor water use accounts for 30% of household water usage. 

Celebrate World Water Day by pledging to adjust your water usage. Do your part at home by making tweaks to your everyday routine. Here are six lifestyle changes you can start using now to conserve water, which in the long run preserves our environment. 

6 Ways You Can Help Conserve Water

1. Use Less Water 

First, the obvious – start from the source and use less water. Take shorter showers and turn the faucet off while brushing your teeth. For example, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth can save 8 gallons of water per day.  

2. Check for Leaks  

You would be surprised at how much water goes to waste from leaky faucets and pipes. According to the EPA, household leaks can waste nearly 900 billion gallons of water annually. That's equal to the annual household water use of almost 11 million homes!  

3. Run Them Fully Loaded

Your water-using appliances use a lot of water – make sure you run your washing machine and dishwasher fully loaded. Even if you run your machines with small load settings, they're still using most of the water and energy of a full load.  

4. Reuse Extra Water

When cooking your favorite pasta dish or tasty veggies, you typically boil water for pasta and blanch the vegetables to remove any dirt. Water from pasta, veggie blanching, and dish washing can all be used to water plants (of course, if the dishwater isn't too dirty with chemicals). You can also use your veggie water for mopping the floor.  

5. Switch to a Reusable Water Bottle

While single-use plastic water bottles are convenient, both you and the environment benefit when you commit to a reusable bottle. Single-use plastic water bottles not only pollute our landfills and seascapes, but they take an extraordinary amount of water to manufacture. According to watercalculator.org, it takes at least twice as much water to produce a plastic water bottle as the amount of water contained in the bottle. Get pure-tasting water on the go with our water pitchers and dispensers with 5-Stage Filtration.  

6. Collect Rainwater

You can use rainwater for watering plants, showering, washing your car, or doing laundry. You could collect rainwater naturally by using things you already have around your home like buckets, a kiddie swimming pool, watering cans, etc. Simply allow them to fill up with the rainwater and use the water within a short amount of time (to avoid mosquitoes). Then consider upgrading to a rain barrel.  

A little bit goes a long way, especially when it comes to water usage. Being conscious of these suggestions and adding them to your routine will not only help save the environment, but you'll also save money on your water bill. 

On World Water Day and every day, we at ZeroWater are thankful for our ability to help provide better quality water across the globe. Learn more at WorldWaterDay.org.