The thoughtlessness of wasting water has become another threat to our ill-fated planet. As The Guardian reported, “Now the world is running out of water and by the year 2025, two-thirds of the world’s more-than-8-billion population will face a water shortage.” In fact, it continued, “Our demand for water has doubled over the last 40 years.”
That is serious enough for us to start saving water now, especially since the dry season has caused the levels of our dams, the main source of rainwater supply, to subside dangerously.
In every home, some 50 liters of water are used by individuals for their daily shower or bath. Much more are used to clean our homes using synthetic chemicals that eventually pollute natural waterways. It’s time for us to reduce the amount of time we spend cleaning up, and to start using natural and organic toiletries and cosmetics instead. Using diluted vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda are good alternatives, just as household borax has proven to be an efficient antibacterial bleaching agent for bathrooms, and a fungicide as well.
Washing dishes when the sink is full can also save water, as would using the “gray water” from final rinsing as this could be stored for watering the plants, ideally in the morning or early evening to minimize water loss from evaporation. During the wet season, saving rainwater can help top up our water supply for plants, cleaning, and flushing the toilet.
Using fully loaded washing machines and washing clothes with environment-friendly detergents would save water as well, just as drying clothes naturally under the sun or in the wind would save energy.
Outside our homes, we also need to be mindful of saving water and protecting it by cleaning up extant springs and other waterways. Planting trees and mangroves and engaging the Coast Guard to oversee Manila Bay, Laguna de Bay, the Pasig River, and other major bodies of water are a good way to do this.
In the absence of dams in larger communities, local government units can conserve water by constructing safe and well-protected catch basins for floodwaters that can be used for households and farms during the dry season.
We are all responsible for saving water in this wonderful but endangered planet. Once we get into the habit of saving water, it becomes second nature to us. Like footprints left on Mother Earth, this will be our legacy to fellow residents on earth in the near or distant future.
Pit M. Maliksi,founder,
Mga Apo ni Tomas