World Water Day is celebrated every year on 22 March to evoke the importance of water consumption and its properties for every human being.
The United Nations indicates that this celebration aims to raise awareness about the global water crisis and the need to seek measures to address it so that we achieve the Sustainable Development Goal No. 6: Water and sanitation for all by 2030.
One of the biggest problems we face Globally is that exactly 2.2 billion people live without access to safe drinking water.
Water covers 70% of our planet’s surface and may seem like an unlimited resource. However, most of this water is virtually useless to humans because it is saltwater. It is not drinkable, nor can it be used to irrigate crops. Only 3.5% of the water on our planet is fresh. Of this, 70% is found in the polar ice caps in the form of ice, and the other 30% under the earth’s surface in underground wells: only 0.025% of drinking water is accessible.
Humans have up to 78% water at birth, and although we lose water as we mature, an adult body holds up to 60% of the precious liquid. The brain and heart are 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, the muscles, and kidneys 79%, and even the bones are watery: they are 31% water. It is incredible how we are so dependent on this precious commodity and unaware of its importance, as we have easy access to it daily.
This year’s theme for 2022 focuses on “groundwater, making the invisible visible.”
Groundwater is the water that lies beneath the earth’s surface and is essential because it supplies a large part of the world’s population. Like other elements of our planet, they are also threatened by pollution.
When precipitation occurs in rain or snow, some of the water percolates through the ground into impermeable rock, filling its pores and fissures and being stored in aquifers.
It supplies almost half of all the world’s drinking water, and about 43% of the water consumed is at risk. It is of vital importance to people in arid regions, as it is an essential water source during periods of drought. And it contributes to our ecosystem, as many different species depend on its richness.
The origin of most of the polluting processes in the environment are the following:
- Domestic wastewater: leaking sewage sewers that infiltrate the ground and sewage discharges cause point source pollution.
- Agricultural activities: excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture or forestry practices can cause diffuse pollution.
- Livestock: animal defecation can cause point source pollution in the case of leaking storage systems when fertilization is not adequately treated.
- Solid waste and sewage sludge: poorly insulated landfills or landfills of surface deposited waste cause point source pollution when they reach the surface.
- Industrial and mining activities: industrial discharges, mines, and leaking petrol station tanks can also cause point source pollution.
As individuals and reasonable beings, one of the things we can do to make a difference is to use less water for luxury purposes. We all need to address the issue of groundwater depletion. Given the looming crisis of massive water shortages, we can take care of our ecosystem if we all do our part to use less water.
Water is used so freely that it is often part of outdoor decoration ideas and is used for major attractions such as amusement parks. As well as reducing the use of chemicals and disposing of them properly.
Water is the driving force of all nature.
