Water and Water Quality Essay

Introduction

Many scientists believe that water supports life and that without water many living organisms can fail to survive (Gleick 2). In that case, water is an essential resource to the society. Water is used for drinking, washing, bathing and also for running industries. The way people use water determines the quality and even its state when looked from the perspective of the natural resources. Since most natural resources are not infinite, and water is not an exception, human actions have led to the destruction of water catchment areas, and according to scientists, the remaining portion of the earth that has clean and fresh water is small.

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People have still not realized that they will end up with water that is not usable and suffering in that line will increase (Gleick 2). The quality of water has become an environmental issue that needs to be discussed to make everyone change behaviors and get back to the conservative acts that were imminent in the past. In this case, there will be an assessment of the issues revolving around water and its quality and later on align some of the conservation measures that can be put in place to make sure that the problem does not get out of hand.

Water Supplies

The planet has both fresh and salt water. The oceans and seas are commonly known to have salty water, and that is the reason why humans do not depend on them for survival. Salty water is not readily usable, and that means fresh water remains to be most important and also the most useful. The water cycle is the primary source of earth's clean water. The cycle collects, purifies and distributes the fresh water using mechanisms that are driven by nature. In that case, the fresh water can be seen to be coming from either the surface or from the ground. Surface water is formed through precipitations, and it is found in lakes, wetlands, and reservoirs.

On the other hand, groundwater is a precipitate that ends up in the ground where there are reservoirs referred to as aquifers (Gleick 5). The water then moves slowly, and it is ejected through streams, springs, oceans and also in lakes. In that case, the groundwater tends to be part of the water cycle since it is a process that takes place from the underground. A significant portion of the earth's fresh water is composed of groundwater, and this is the one that people use to drink having in mind that it does not have any form of impurities.

Water Shortages

Water shortage is a case that has been experienced over the past few years, and all this is taking place out of human actions. People are taking part in the industrial production of items, and they forget the fact that fresh water is getting depleted. Many have not realized that water is a natural resource and it gets exhausted if they continue misusing it the way they do. The people in the United States get water from the aquifers at a faster rate than the one that is left for replenishment. Scientists believe that the aquifers have got water that can sustain people for a long time, but the cost of extracting them is very high.

The United States has got abundant sources of fresh water, but most of it is used by the industrial sectors that keep on polluting it every day (Novotny 4). Most scientists believe that people take part in water and pollution because they think the cost of water is low and accessing it is also not a problem. In that case, they chose to waste it with a perception that more of it will come. They have not realized that the groundwater cannot be replenished and they will end up having no fresh water in future. In that case, for people to make sure that they have a sustainable water supply in the future, they have to use a lot of strategies that will cut across water saving technologies among the farmers and the agricultural sectors.

Virtual Water

Virtual water refers to the water that is mainly used during the production of food, and most of the consumer products. Virtual water is in abundance, and that is the reason why food production is always a continuous process, and people have to make sure it is successful at any given point and time. There is also the water footprint which refers to the amount of water that needed to make sure that the production has been completed successfully. People consume a lot of virtual water, but they do not realize that some gallons need to be replaced or left for conservation. For instance, when own is taking a burger and later on drinks soda, the gallons of water used to add up to 663.

Water Pollution

Water pollution is an activity that started a long time ago, and it has not reduced by any chance. The water pollution activity is not likely to decrease due to the many industries that are coming up (Novotny 8). In that case, water pollution can be understood to be a chemical or physical-chemical change that interferes with quality of water and the impacts of such acts are always harmful to the living organisms. Water that is polluted is not suitable for use. Some of the factors that contribute to water pollution are sewerage treatment plants, oil spills, factories, agricultural feedlots and also the abandoned mines. Water pollution is an activity that has been going, and one of the significant events that would lead to its alleviation is coming up with strict laws that would be used to punish people and industries that have been taking part in the activity.

Safe Drinking Water

Some standards have been put in place to make sure that there is safe drinking water. For instance, the United States has the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 which was established to make sure that the people had access to water that was healthy at all times (World Health Organization 9). There are also standards that have been put in place to ban the use of lead in the United States since it is a common water pollutant. There are also rules that have been put in place to make people flash water in the pipes after it has stayed there for long without being in use. All these measures make sure that people are enjoying fresh water.

Water Conservation Methods

For water to serve people for long, it needs to be conserved. One of the water conservation methods is making sure that the time taken to shower is reduced. It is essential to make sure that the sinks are turned off while brushing or washing the utensils. Low flow toilets and showerheads should be installed, and this acts as the other way in which water can be conserved. Clothes should also be cleaned when they are fully loaded to reduce the rate at which water is used in the process. If these and other measures are put in place, the amount of fresh water available for domestic use will be in abundance.

Works Cited

Gleick, Patrick. "Water in crisis," A guide to the worlds fresh water resources. 1993

Novotny, Vandit. "Water Quality: Prevention, identification and management of diffuse pollution." Van Nostrand-Reinhold Publishers. 1994

World Health Organization. "Guidelines for drinking-water quality: recommendations." World Health Organization. 2004