Sustainble Development #4 Water Sustainabilty

we live on a planet covered by water, 70% of the earth is made up of water. Scientists estimate that about 1.36 billion cubic kilometers of water occupies the topographic depression of the earth, 97% of the hydrosphere is saline with only under 3% fresh water (with only 1% available for human use while the rest is in the glaciers and ice cap of the Antarctica and Greenland).

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Water is a transparent and nearly colorless chemical substance that is the main constituent of Earth's streams, lakes, and oceans, and the fluids of most living organisms.

Water sustainability could be defined as supplying or being supplied with water for life or, perhaps more precisely, as the continual supply of clean water for human uses and for other living things. It is does not specify exactly how much water we have, nor does it imply the unrestrained, infinite availability of water. Rather, it refers to the sufficient availability of water into the foreseeable future.

Water is at the centre of sustainable development and socioeconomic development, it drives our industries, used in homes and agricultural fields for food production and most significantly water sustain our ecosystem.

Fresh Water: as we have earlier stated that the hydrosphere is 70% of the earth, but only 3% of the hydrosphere is freshwater and 1% is available for use. The 1% available are in rivers, ponds, lakes, aquifers, streams e.t.c. This little available percentage is to be shared by over 7 billion people and other inhabitant of the planet making it essential for us to properly manage this renewable effectively and sustain-ably.

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Fresh water as a renewable resource is used more than it can be replenished which is degrading and unsustainable. There are ways which we can manage this depleting resources to avoid further damage, some of which are explained below.

• Use of water in agriculture: man needs food for survival and one of the means of getting food is by cultivation and rearing of livestock. Water is used for irrigating farmlands and other farm activities, the intensive use of underground water for irrigation have depleted the underground recharge of water. Also the use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizer on farms closed to fresh water source is dangerous because surface runoffs during rainfall or irrigation will end up in this water source leading to its contamination
  Conservation of water in agriculture
• The need for water management on farm is very necessary so as to ensure the effective use of water such as the Isreali drip technology which allow minimal use of water for irrigation.
• The use of Inorganic fertilizer should be discouraged among farmers instead they should adopt the crop rotation or bush fallowing cropping system.

Use of water in industries: Water is as important to the industrial sector as to the agricultural sector, Hydro electric dams are built on rivers to provide electricity for industries and house hold use. Water consumed by some of this industries is very enormous

In 2009, European and North American industrial water use accounted for half of their total water use, whereas in developing nations industrial water use ranges from 4-12% of national water use. As industrialisation in developing nations increases, industrial water use could potentially increase by a factor of five.
Also by-product such as, heavy metals, inorganic and organic chemicals, effluents e.t.c. contaminates fresh water sources.
Conservation of water in industries

• Optimization of water use by industries to lower water withdrawal from local sources

• Waste water management should be adopt by this industries to threat their waste before disposal

• Use of water in household:some of the important uses of water are at our homes. Domestic water use is water used for indoor and outdoor household such as: drinking, preparing food, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, brushing your teeth, watering the yard and garden, and even washing the dog.
  Conservation of water in household

• close taps when not in use and make sure you fix broken pipes

• wash vehicles only when needed

• Use brooms and vacuum cleaners to clean instead of water.

• Reuse water when necessary.

Conclusion
The effective use of water as a renewable resource will push us towards the achievement of our sustainable development goal.

Reference
wikipedia
National Water Research Institute, JERALD L. SCHNOOR,(2010). Water Sustainability in a Changing World: Fountain Valley: California
Global Education Project
sustainable sanitation and water management
USGS