There are many, many ways that we use our water and that is partly why it is so important that we conserve our water. Water is our most precious resource. Water is vital to life. Humans, plants, and animals are made up of mostly water. All living things would die if it weren't for water. We use water for drinking, washing, cleaning, cooking, and growing our food as well as many, many other things. Even more water is used by industries to generate electricity, manufacture things, and transport people and goods.
A rainwater tank.
Much of our fresh water is also used outdoors for watering lawns, flower beds, and vegetable gardens, as well as washing cars and filling swimming pools. We must be careful not to pollute the water that we use outside. Many people use chemicals on their lawns and gardens and then water them with pure water. The water will wash the chemicals off of your plants and then run down a storm drain and go straight to the rivers and streams where fish make their homes. This kind of polluted water can kill fish and wildlife. We should always be mindful of whether or not we are polluting the water around us. We need to take care of our water, not abuse it.
What can be done?
Use a rainwater tank to water gardens and landscapes. A properly installed rain tank harvests rain water from the gutters of your home and provides ample water for gardens and landscape areas. Capturing this rain water reduces the amount of run off that may otherwise be picking up garbage, oils, fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants that are on your lawn, pavement and street. This also reduces the amount of pollution getting into our rivers, lakes, streams and ocean. Not to mention saving on water bills.
Municipal use
Every town and city, whether small or big, uses water. Cities use water for fire-fighting, street cleaning, and watering public areas such as parks, grass, trees, shrubs, and flowers. All of the different businesses in your community also use water. Think about all the water that is used by restaurants, hospitals, laundries, dry cleaners, golf courses, hotels, car washes, beauty shops, barber shops, gas stations, and health clubs as well as all of the other businesses in town. We need to try to think about how many people need to use water and conserve our water so that there is enough to go around.