2010
Detail about
water
MOHAMED USMAN
Water conservation and
Drinking water or potable water is water of sufficiently high
quality that can be consumed or used with low risk of immediate
or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water
supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking
water standard, even though only a very small proportion is
actually consumed or used in food preparation.
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Water conservation and Detail about water
Drinking water:
Drinking water or potable water is water of sufficiently high quality
that can be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long
term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to
households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water
standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually
consumed or used in food preparation.
Water has always been an important and life-sustaining drink to
humans and is essential to the survival of all organisms. Excluding
fat, water composes approximately 70% of the human body by
mass. It is a crucial component of metabolic processes and serves
as a solvent for many bodily solutes.
Health authorities have historically suggested at least eight
glasses, eight fluid ounces each (168 ml), of water per day (64 fluid
ounces, or 1.89 litres), and the British Dietetic Association
recommends 1.8 litres.
Although covering some 70% of the Earth's surface, most water is
saline. Freshwater is available in almost all populated areas of the
earth, although it may be expensive and the supply may not always
be sustainable.
Sources where water may be obtained include:
Ground sources such as groundwater, hyporheic zones and
aquifers.
Precipitation which includes rain, hail, snow, fog, etc.
Surface water such as rivers, streams, glaciers
Biological sources such as plants.
Percentage of population with access to safe drinking water (2000)
Albania 97%
China 75%
Iran 92%
Mexico 88%
Peru 80%
Syria 80%
Algeria 89%
Cuba 91%
Iraq 85%
Moldova 92%
Philippines 86%
Turkey 82 %
Azerbaijan 78%
Egypt 97%
Kenya 57%
Morocco 80%
Singapore 100%
Uganda 52 %
Brazil 87%
India 84%
North Korea 100%
Mozambique 57%
South Africa 86%
Venezuela 83%
Chile 93 %
Indonesia 78 %
South Korea 92%
Pakistan 90 %
Sudan 67 %
Zimbabwe 83%
Access to safe drinking water:
Access to safe drinking water is indicated by the number of people
using proper sanitary sources. These improved drinking water
sources include household connection, public standpipe, borehole
condition, protected dug well, protected spring, and rain water
collection.
One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the UN
includes environmental sustainability. In 2004, only forty-two
percent of people in rural areas had access to clean water.
Solar water disinfection is a low-cost method of purifying water
that can often be implemented with locally available materials.
Unlike methods that rely on firewood, it has low impact on the
environment.
Drinking water of a variety of qualities is bottled and sold for public
consumption throughout the world. Trends in sales and
consumption of bottled water have risen significantly in the last two
decades in both developed and developing countries.
Drinking water preferences of other animals:
The qualitative and quantitative aspects of drinking water
requirements of domesticated animals are studied and described
within the context of animal husbandry.
However, relatively few studies have been focused on the drinking
behaviour of wild animals. A recent study has shown that feral
pigeons do not discriminate drinking water according to its content
of metabolic wastes, such as uric acid or urea (mimicking faeces -
or urine-pollution by birds or mammals respectively).
Water conservation
Water conservation refers to reducing the usage of water and
recycling of waste water for different purposes such as cleaning,
manufacturing, and agricultural irrigation.
Water conservation programs are typically initiated at the local
level, by either municipal water utilities or regional governments.
progressively higher prices as water use increases), or restrictions
on outdoor water use such as lawn watering and car washing.
Cities in dry climates often require or encourage the installation of
xeriscaping or natural landscaping in new homes to reduce outdoor
water usage.
The Cost effective minimum water network is a holistic
framework/guide for water conservation that helps in determining
the minimum amount of freshwater and wastewater target for an
industrial or urban system based on the water management
hierarchy i.e. it considers all conceivable methods to save water.
The technique ensure that the designer desired payback period is
satisfied using Systematic Hierarchical Approach for Resilient
Process Screening (SHARPS) technique. Rainfall Calculator
Try & calculate the advantages of Rainwater Harvesting