Green Tips: Celebrating World Water Day

March 22nd is World Water Day. In 2020, the UN is using the day to highlight water and climate change. In recognition of this global observance, we want to share some ways that you can help conserve and protect our water resources.

Water sustains all life on Earth, yet freshwater is incredibly limited in supply and accessibility in many parts of the world. A staggering 97% of all the water on Earth is salt water, and of the freshwater resources that are not held in glaciers or in the ground, only 1% is readily available for use. As a result, many regions of the world are without reliable access to clean water. In New York, we are lucky to have access to clean water and must conserve this precious resource.

Ways to Conserve

There are numerous ways to conserve water, most of which only require small adjustments to your routine. 

• Avoid leaving the water running while brushing your teeth.
• Try to reduce your time in the shower. Create a shower playlist to keep track of time. Did you know that an average shower of 8 minutes can use over 17 gallons of water?
• Invest in a reusable water bottle. To manufacture one plastic water bottle, it takes roughly 1.5 gallons of water—more than what’s typically in the bottle!
• Do laundry only when you have a full load.
• If you have a dishwasher, only run it when it’s full. If you wash dishes by hand, soap up dirty dishes without running the water and then rinse them all at once. 
• Fix any water leaks in your home, including leaky toilets, which can waste over 22,000 gallons of water per year. To learn more about how to prevent leaks in and around your home or business, check out the EPA WaterSense website.
• Consider the amount of meat you’re consuming. Producing just one pound of meat uses 2,400 gallons of water. To see how much water is needed to produce other food products, check out this resource. 
• Turn off your sprinkler system when it rains to prevent excessively watering your lawn or garden.

Raise Awareness

• Social media is a great tool to help spread information quickly and effectively. The World Water Day website has plenty of resources to help get started. 
• Talk to your friends and family about why it’s important to conserve water and how many areas around the world lack access to clean water. There are also many links between water and climate change. For example, extreme weather events can increase water scarcity and lead to pollution issues. 

Celebrate

Recognize World Water Day with some of these activities:

• Challenge yourself to use the least amount of water possible in a day. Evaluate at the end of the day which lifestyle change you can implement and commit to moving forward.
• Take a trip to a lake, stream, pond, or shoreline to connect with our water resources! 
• Explore the amazing properties of water with some fun water-based science experiments! 
• Donate to an organization that works to solve water-related issues.
• Infuse water with fruits and vegetables to distinguish your glass of water on this special day. Kids will love it, too!