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Why Recycling Water Is Important

Water recycling is a means of using water efficiently, whereby water is reused via some method. Filtration, chemical treatment, canal structures, recapture systems, grey water systems and many others are all methods of recycling water. The method employed is dependent on the individual circumstances, including location, intended use and size.

  1. Adequate Drinking Supply

    • Most of the water used for human consumption comes from either surface water sources, (lakes and rivers) or groundwater sources, (water in the aquifer). A few people get their water from glacial melting or reverse osmosis plants. Only 2.5 percent of earth's water is fresh (not salty) and, of that, 70 percent is locked-up as ice. As a result, the drinking water supply is limited to just 0.75 percent of all of earth's water. It is very important to manage this tiny bit of earth's water effectively, and recycling is one of the key measures of ensuring its safety.

    Health

    • The majority of all illnesses are caused by the consumption of contaminated drinking water. Worms, bacteria and fecal mater in water sources cause illness and death around the world. The total number of deaths attributed to waterborne illnesses is greater than that from all wars waged on earth. Currently, the death rate is an astounding one person every few seconds, all linked to drinking contaminated water. Appropriate water recycling methods treat and filter water, thus killing bacteria and removing fecal mater responsible for spreading disease.

    Preventing Waste

    • In the United Stated, the average American uses 80 to 100 gallons of water per day. The daily minimum water requirement is about 13 gallons/person; below this, health problems arise. Many regions of China, India and developing nations have access to only a small fraction of the water Americans take for granted. Recycling reduces the amount of water wasted, since it is reused.

    Agricultural Production

    • In many places, water is a renewable resource: rainwater recharges the aquifer. However, in many places, it rains less than the rate at which water is used. For example, parts of the Ogallala Aquifer (one of the largest water resources in the United States) have been drawn down to the point where it is now economically unfeasible to pump it. However, the Ogallala Aquifer is crucial (where it hasn't been decimated) for agricultural irrigation throughout its area of 174,000 square miles. Its water is used to produce a large percentage of all food on earth. Creating effective recycling measures can help slow the continued draw-down of many aquifers and increase the likelihood of continued crop production.

    Protecting the Ecosystem

    • After water is used, the wastewater produced contains many contaminants including nutrients, bacteria and poisons. Human waste and agricultural products such as fertilizers find their way into the oceans and act as nutrients. Theses nutrients become food for algae, often causing "algal blooms." When the nutrients become exhausted, the algae die and decompose. The process of decomposition causes oxygen depletion; this in turn causes ecosystems to crash. Massive fish kills and corals bleaching may result, and the impact continues up the food chain. Recycling methods filter and treat wastewater before being returned to the ecosystem, thus reducing harmful impacts and possibly averting many looming environmental disasters.

    Environment

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