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Posted on March 21, 2017 by

The Significance of World Water Day - March 22

world-waterWorld Water Day is a global annual event that’s been taking place since 1993. It happens every year on March 22, and the theme of this year’s event is wastewater. The purpose of World Water Day is to put an end to the water crisis and water scarcity around the world.

To help you learn more about the significance of World Water Day, here’s some information about the water crisis, water waste in America, and what you can do at home to get involved and save water.

Statistics on the Global Water Crisis

The global water crisis is a scarcity of clean water that affects millions of people worldwide in a variety of ways, including:

  • 663 million people don’t have access to clean water
  • 1 in 10 people don’t have safe water to drink
  • 1 in 3 people don’t have access to a safe toilet
  • 1.8 billion people rely on a water source that’s contaminated and could cause cholera, typhoid, polio, and other diseases
  • The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals wants everyone to have access to safe water by 2030

Causes: There are a number of factors that have led to the water crisis, and they include water waste, the growing global demand for water, increasing agricultural and industrial demands, pollution, climate shifts, and the distribution of water around the planet.

Statistics on Wastewater

water-dropOver 80 percent of the wastewater that humans generate is sent back to the ecosystem untreated and underused. This means that almost all of the water that comes from human cities, homes, farms, and businesses goes back to the environment polluted and lacking the nutrients and minerals that it needs to sustain life. There are many ways that this wastewater can be reduced, including by reducing consumption and waste in the first place, by treating and reusing wastewater, and by using greywater instead of freshwater for things like:

  • Gardening
  • Cooling systems
  • Irrigation

Statistics on Water Waste in America

Collectively, the United States of America wastes about a trillion gallons of water each year. That number is pretty difficult to comprehend, so we’ll give you some comparisons. According to NASA, a trillion gallons of water is about the same as:

  • 24 billion baths
  • 40 million swimming pools
  • Almost 10 percent of the water deficit that caused the California drought

Statistics on Water Waste in American Homes (and How to Improve)

wasting-waterAfter hearing how much water is wasted each year in this country, you're probably wondering where on Earth all that waste comes from, so here are some numbers that can shed a little light on that:

The average faucet spews out 2.5 gallons of water per minute: shut off the taps when you're washing dishes or brushing your teeth
A running toilet can waste up to 4,000 gallons of water per day: keep your toilets in good repair, flush less often, and install low-flow toilets
Even just a small drip at the faucet can waste over 20 gallons of water per day: regularly inspect for leaks and fix them as soon as possible

Leaking irrigation systems can waste over 200 gallons of water per day: inspect for leaks often
Some shower heads release up to 5 gallons of water per minute: have shorter showers, turn the water off when you're lathering up, and install low-flow fixtures

World Water Day is an extremely important annual event, and we invite you to take part this year by spreading the word about the water crisis, and by making changes at home to reduce water consumption and waste. For more information, or for leak detection and repair services in Maui, HI, call Allens Plumbing today at 808-877-6370.