How to live sustainably every day (Part 4) - Hole in the bucket

Of all the environmental issues we discuss, water raises the gloomiest predictions. Whether or not we believe in the water wars to come, we’ve at least seen spats in front of street taps. In most Indian cities, we ought to conserve water in our homes and gardens.“But we have no water problem!” say many householders. Yes, if you live in a privileged neighbourhood, there may always be water coming out of your taps. But what middle class families pay for water does not reflect the actual cost of purifying it and piping it into our houses.Poorer neighbourhoods may get what looks like ‘free’ water from street taps and lorries. But a woman who spends half her day waiting with her pot loses time she might spend caring for her family and earning a living. A girl appointed to carry water for the family’s needs usually misses school to do the job.

Our cities have a particular quantity of water available in their reservoirs, and while we merrily hose down our cars and half drown the garden, we have to think about the water we are taking away from others. If we exhaust our ground water faster than it can percolate in, the source dries up or, if it is close to the sea, the water becomes saline.

Three steps

Fresh water is a finite common resource in most places. There are three steps to using it conscientiously. First, do not waste what you have. Second, help to recharge ground water. Third, do not pollute water.

A well in any house is a treasure. It needs to be kept clean and regularly used. A simple and cheap way to recharge the well is to dig a pit next to it, fill it with gravel and direct a pipe from the roof gutter to the pit. Such a system has become mandatory for apartment blocks in many cities, but if not, we can co-operate with our neighbours to do it. Our bath water and kitchen water is called ‘gray water,’ and it doesn’t do our garden any harm. This gray water should not be directed into the septic tank. Even in a flat, we can reuse some of the water that is used but not really ‘dirty.’ Water we have used to wash grains or vegetables is good for plants. Rinse water from clothes can be used to wash floors or flush toilets.

Whatever chemicals we use eventually end up in our soil and water, so it makes sense to keep detergents and cleaners to a minimum.

Let’s not ask whether our family can afford to pay for extra water, but rather whether society can afford our wasteful habits in the long run. Water belongs to everyone.

Courtesy: The Hindu