water conservation ppt

 

Water conservation and green culture

 

WATER CONSERVATION

Water conservation is the practice of using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage.

 

·       water conservation is important because fresh clean water is a limited resource, as well as a costly one.

 

·       Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand. 

GOALS
the main goal of water conservation is

1. To restore sustainability and

2. To conserve energy and natural habitats.

OBJECTIVES

REASONS TO CONSERVE WATER

 

Below are some of the main reasons it is important to conserve water.

1.    It minimizes the effects of drought and water shortages.

 Even though our need for fresh water sources is always increasing because of population and industry growth, the supply we have stays constant. Even though water eventually returns to Earth through the water cycle, it's not always returned to the same spot, or in the same quantity and quality. By reducing the amount of water we use, we can better protect against future drought years.

2.    It guards against rising costs and political conflict. 

Failing to conserve water can eventually lead to a lack of an adequate water supply, which can have drastic consequences. These include rising costs, reduced food supplies, health hazards, and political conflict.

3.    It helps to preserve our environment. 

Reducing our water usages reduces the energy required to process and deliver it to homes, businesses, farms, and communities, which, in turn, helps to reduce pollution and conserve fuel resources.

4.    It makes water available for recreational purposes. 

It's not just swimming pools, spas, and golf courses that we have to think about. Much of our freshwater resources are also used for beautifying our surroundings—watering lawns, trees, flowers, and vegetable gardens, as well as washing cars and filling public fountains at parks. Failing to conserve water now can mean losing out on such uses later on.

5.    It builds safe and beautiful communities:

 Firefighters, hospitals, gas stations, street cleaners, health clubs, gyms, and restaurants all require large amounts of water to provide services to the community. Reducing our usage of water now means that these services can continue

STRATEGIES FOR WATER CONSERVATION

The following strategies can be adopted for conservation of water:

1. Decreasing run-off losses:

Huge water-loss occurs due to run-off on most of the soils, which can be reduced by allowing most of the water to infiltrate into the soil. This can be achieved by using

a)contour cultivation

b)   terrace framing

c)    water spreading

d)   Conservation-bench terracing

e)    Chemical treatment.

(a) Contour cultivation:

On small furrows and ridges across the slopes trap rainwater and allow more time for infiltration. It is applicable on relatively short slopes up to about 8 percent, steepness with fairly stable soils. By planning across the slope, rather t up and down a hill, the contour ridges slow or stop the downhill flow of water, water is held in between these contours, thus reducing water erosion and increasing soil moisture.

(b) Terrace farming:

Terracing constructed on deep soils has large water-storage capacity. On gentle slopes trapped run off is spread over a large area (for better infiltrations). Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice.

 

(c) Conservation-bench terracing:

It involves construction of a series of benches for catching the run off water’s.

(d) Water spreading:

Water spreading is done by channelling or lagoon-levelling, in Channelling, water flow is controlled by a series of diversions with vertical intervals. In lagoon levelling, small depressions are dug in the area so that there is temporary storage water.

 

(e) Chemical wetting agents (Surfactants):

These seem to increase the water intake rates when added to normal irrigated soiled) Surface crop residues, tillage, mulch, animal residues etc. help in reducing run-off by allowing more time for water to penetrate into the land’s) Chemical conditioners like gypsum (CaS04.2H20) when applied to sonic soils improve soil permeability and reduce run off.

2. Reducing evaporation losses:

This is more relevant in humid regions. Horizontal barriers of asphalt placed below the soil surface increase water availability and increase crop yield by 35-40%. This is more effective on sandy soil but less effective on loamy sand soils.

A co­polymer of starch and acrylonitrile called ‘super slumber’ has been reported to absorb water up to 1400 times its weight. The chemical has been found to be useful for sandy soils.

3. Storing water in soil:

Storage of water takes place in the soil root zone inhumed regions when the soil is wetted to field capacity. By leaving the soil fallow for one season water can be made available for the crop grown in next season.

4. Reducing irrigation losses:

(a) Use of lined or covered canals to reduce seepage.

(b) Irrigation in early morning or late evening to reduce evaporation losses.

(c) Sprinkling irrigation and drip irrigation to conserve water by 30-50%.

(d) Growing hybrid crop varieties with less water requirements and tolerance to saline water help conserve water.

(e) Leave some ground idle and apply the saved water to high- value crops.


(f) Use soil-moisture monitoring equipment to measure how much moisture is in the soil.

(g) Know each crop’s tolerance of drought stress and irrigate accordingly.

5. Reuse of water:

(a) Treated wastewater can be used for ferti-irrigation.

(b) Using grey water from washings, bath-tubs etc. for watering gardens, washing cars or paths help in saving fresh water.

6. Preventing wastage of water

This can be done in households, commercial buildings and public places:

(a) Closing taps when not in use.

(b) Repairing any leakage from pipes.

(c) Using small capacity flush in toilets.

7. Increasing block pricing:

The consumer has to pay a proportionately higher bill with higher use of water. This helps in economic use of water by the consumers.

ADVANTAGES OF WATER CONSERVATION

1) saving money

2) Saving environment and energy

3) protecting the drinking water resources

4) reduce or minimize the pollution and health problems

5) reduce the need for new waste water treatment facilities

6) save the aquatic environment

7) save the energy which is required for heat, treat and pumping the water

8) Conserving water can also be helpful during emergency cases such as drought, water contamination or mechanical failures.

GREEN CULTURE

Green culture may be defined as a lifestyle of making deliberate choices and decisions regarding the resources used for daily living for the purpose of minimizing resources used or to use resources that are renewable.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR INTEGRATING GREEN CULTURE

·       Discourage the use of plastic bottles

·       Encourage the use of reusable ones that can be washed out and used again.

·       Put a bike rack at a convenient and safe location to encourage people to use greener modes of transportation.

·       Invest in eco-friendly technology

·       Recycle everything

·       Try to cut out plastic

·       Fix it, don’t throw it

·       Repairing or fixing something is more environmentally friendly than simply throwing things away

·       Use eco-friendly cleaning products