Went for a workshop today in conjunction with the awareness campaign by World Water Day. Found out many disturbing facts. We thought we were safe, but we are not.
Did You Know?
- There is only 3% freshwater in the world, this amount also includes ice.
- In the 20th Century, the world population has tripled. The use of the water therefore, has grown 6 times.
- Cumulatively, by mid-century the world population will have an additional 3 billion people. Most of these people will be born in countries already experiencing water crises. By that time, each person will only be entitled to less than 10 litres of water per day.
- Everyday, a normal human being uses 190 litres of water.
- Last year, 25 million refugees were displaced by contaminated rivers.
- One in three people lack of access to sanitation.
- One in five don’t have access to clean drinking water.
- 1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases; 90% or 1.4 million are children under 5, mostly in developing countries.
- A child dies every 15 seconds due to water related disease, that equivalent to 4 deaths per minute.
- At any time, hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-related diseases.
- The average usage of water per person per day in Malaysia is at least 300 litres, while in urban areas the figure goes up to 500 litres.
- We are going to run out of water faster than oil.
- Due to the over-pumping of underground water, we are running out of fresh water. That will lead to the shortage of food. Therefore, water problem = hunger problem.
- Less than 1% of the fresh water is readily accessible to human. Less than 0.007% of all water on earth is drinking water.
- 60% of our body, 70% of our brain and 80% of our blood is formed by water.
- We will die without food for a month; but no more than a week without water.
- 1/4 of our water at home is used as flush water: flush toilets (11 litres); laundry (150 litres); 10 minutes of shower (190 litres); brushing teeth with tap running (15 litres) etc.
What is the benefit of clean water?
- Improved water supply reduces diarrhea morbidity by between 6% and 25%. Improved sanitation reduces diarrhea morbidity by 32%.
- Improvements in the quality of drinking water through household water treatment, such as chlorination at point-of-use, can lead to a reduction of diarrhea between 35% and 39%.
Practice this to safe our water!
- Use toilet boil with smaller capacity (for example 6 litres or less per flush) or place a bottle of water in the tank to reduce water for each flush.
- Take shorter shower or install a low flow showerhead.
- Place a bucket near the shower to collect excess water during a bath and recycle the water elsewhere.
- Turn off the shower while lathering soap.
- Don’t let the water run while shaving, brushing teeth or washing your face. The best practice is to collect water in a pail and use it.
- Water plants with a watering can instead of a hose or sprinkler, using rainwater or recycled water from your fish tank or kitchen sink.
- Water in the morning or evening to lessen evaporation.
- Avoid over fertilizing or use a slow release water-soluble form of nitrogen.
- Keep your grass about 6cm long because taller grass holds water better.
- Use a broom to clean the driveway and sidewalk rather than flushing with water.
- Use a bucket when washing the car rather than a hose.
- Avoid running water to wash dishes. Fill the sink and use the water.
- Always turn off your taps tightly to avoid leaks.
- Store a bottle of water in the refrigerator or use ice if you want cold water.
- Wash your produce in the sink or a container that is partially filled with water instead of running water.
- Wash a full load in the washing machine each time as the machine uses the same amount of water every time.
- Check all water related pipelines regularly to avoid interior leakages. Immediately report broken pipes / infrastructures to the relevant authorities.
- Encourage water conservation activities to be taught in school.
- Support the government’s call to conserve and save water.
- Collect rainwater to wash the car, garage, water the plants and even flush the toilet.
- Don’t dump oils, fats or harmful chemicals down the sink as they will end up in our water sources, harming them.
Information provided by Amway Malaysia
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