On the twenty-second of March, we celebrated and observed World Water Day; this was a day to focus on and remember that water is not a renewable resource. On our planet, we have a finite amount of water that we all must share. We’re all familiar with the mindset in which water is a commodity, but isn’t access to water also a basic human right? After all, we wouldn’t be able to survive without it.
Why World Water Day is Important
It’s so easy to take something so abundant for granted. Unfortunately, water isn’t as readily accessible to others as it is to most of the continental United States. As we paused to consider all of the implications of water conservation, it became apparent that we all have a civic duty to conserve and protect this natural, non-renewable resource to the best of our ability – anything less than that is damaging to the other humans and animals we occupy this planet with.
As our planet’s population grows, so does the demand for this natural resource – and there will be no increase in the supply. In a typical business model, this leads to a very simple outcome: hiked prices and evolving technologies to reduce consumption. Before this is our reality, we must start taking serious action.
Water Conservation isn’t a Topic for Just One Day
What a disservice it would be if we considered our business’s impacts on the water ecosystem on only one day out of the year. Here at Hydroserve, we make it our business to help you conserve and reduce your usage. We encourage you to partner with us in this effort by opening your mind to conservation techniques that might seem strange, like rainwater collection and on-site water treatment.
What Can You Do?
Spread the word and encourage conversations about water; we often only realize something is important when it becomes unavailable. Let’s not shy away from discussions like the impacts of global warming on the water cycle, and Nestlé’s allegedly questionable definition of “sustainable.” There’s a power that comes from knowledge, and our community’s businesses could better contribute to their neighborhoods and client loyalty by expanding their understanding and practices related to water conservation.
Conservation Tecniques
As we wrote in a previous post, there are several steps you can take as a business, no matter how large or small. Start by auditing your water usage; find ways to reduce the physical volume of water that your business uses. You could install timed faucets, low-volume flush toilets, and maybe water the grass a bit less. Some hardware like cooling units and boilers also use a fair amount of water; by keeping this equipment clean and well-maintained, you can keep running as efficiently as possible.
Every time it rains, free water is falling around your business. It only takes a small amount of equipment and set-up time to hook up your irrigation system to a rainwater collection apparatus. You can even go a step further to treat that water and use it internally if you’d like.
Above all, consider how your business displaces water. This is a common issue, especially with water delivery and water bottling services. When water is drained from a reservoir and transported, the local water cycle is disrupted. If your water company takes water from a local lake, be sure that you and they are returning it to that location.
Take some time to evaluate your business’s stance on water conservation; if you don’t have an official policy, maybe it’s time to make one! When you get ready to optimize your cooling towers and boilers, give us a call; we’ll get you taken care of.