Monday 22 February 2010

Water Conservation Initiative

 Bank of Sungai Johor near Ladang Sungai Papan in Kota Tinggi

I owe blogger Versedanggerik a tag since more than a week ago, so I guess I better get cracking. The tag is intended to raise awareness about water conservation.

I agree to do the tag because water used to be in my line of work. I was involved in managing and construction of water treatment plants for more than 5 years, part of it in a project to help reduce leakage and losses (Non-revenue water or NRW). Many Malaysians take our water supply for granted, as if it is an endless resource. As it is at present, Johor is facing a dry spell and the water levels at dams and reservoirs are falling . So here goes...

Water is precious, yet it is being wasted or poorly managed. You can help promote water conservation by sending on this meme.

If you do, simply follow these rules:

1. Create a blog entry entitled "Water Conservation Initiative".

2. Post the Water Initiative Network's Water Facts in your post.

3. List 3 things YOU will do to save water.

4. Add in the photo above, or any photo you have taken of a waterfall, river or lake.

5. End with the line: "Find out more about water conservation and good governance by joining the Water Initiative Network on Facebook! Visit us here at: Water Initiative Network!

Tag 5 or more blog/FB friends. Be sure to copy the rules, okay?

WATER FACTS
1. Of every 100 drops of water on earth, 97 are too salty to drink, 2 are locked in ice and snow, and 1 is fresh water.

2. The daily requirement for sanitation, bathing, and cooking needs, as well as for assuring survival, is about 50 litres per person.

3. Reducing shower time from 20 mins to 8 mins saves up to 360 litres of water per shower.

4. A small drip from a faucet can waste as much as 75 litres of water a day.

5. Two thirds of the water used in a home is used in the bathroom. To flush a toilet, we use up to 9 litres of water.

6. Water-efficient toilets and washing machines are good ways to save water.

7. A low-tech way to save water is to form the habit of turning on the tap to low flow and turning it off when the water is not needed.

8. Non-revenue water (i.e. stolen or wasted water) constitutes 36% of water 'used' in Selangor, Malaysia, and this raises the cost of water for everyone.

9. Water supply infrastructure cost billions of ringgit. This money could be spent in more useful ways.

10. Large areas of forests are cleared to make way for water supply dams to accommodate our soaring demand for water. These forests and their wildlife represent our natural heritage.


3 THINGS I WILL DO TO SAVE WATER

1. I will collect rainwater to be used for replacement of the clouded water in my fish tank. The dirty water would then be used to to water my plants.

2. I will fill my water bottle with filtered water from my RO unit instead of buying bottled water!

3. I will make sure that all taps in my house do not leak and the overflow valve in the toilet cisterns all work properly.


Like Pat of The English Cottage, I'm not tagging anybody because it seems that most of the bloggers I know are doing the same thing or have already been tagged.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for being such a sport and doing this!

U just did your bit for the environment!

Rina said...

Quote from the fact number 3: "saves up to 360 litres of water per shower". Physically, I think, I need to consume more than that?.. Hihihi

Ooo.. my old lady always use & keep the remaining of rain water for her plants as well & I will use for car wash! Kadang2 remaining of air basuh ikan atau air kosek (bersihkan) beras tu pun Mama guna to water her plants. Dia cakap bagus untuk pokok2 dia & will save the utilities.

In addition, my house toilet can just flush every 30 minutes manually. Less than that cannot! =)

In addition, I let my old lady to take a mildly cold shower without any of water heater and I don’t get her a dishwasher to cut down her housework. As she said, “air ni macam manusia juga, ada pasang surutnya, hari ni mungkin ada, esok mungkin tak ada, lebih baik jangan membazir bermula pada hari ni! Dan, kalau bukan kita yang mulakan, siapa lagi?”