Reasons to Save Water

Water is often taken for granted by people every day--we freely use it to take long showers, fill our swimming pools with it and can purchase it by the case in supermarkets. Few people realize how scarce our usable water supply is, and fewer know just how much of the Earth's water cannot be used by humans. Since humans and animals need water to survive and there is so little of it, there are many reasons to save this precious resource.

Availability

• Out of all the water in the world, only one percent of it is available for consumption by humans and animals. This is because 97 percent of the Earth's water supply is salt water located in the oceans, and another 2 percent is frozen in glaciers and ice caps. In addition to humans and animals needing to share the one percent of water available for drinking, it must also be used for other purposes, such as manufacturing, sanitation and agriculture.

Costs

• Every time someone uses water, they pay for it. No matter if it's only a drop, conserving water can save money. When people use heated water, such as for washing clothes, showering and running a dishwasher, it is even more costly due to the energy needed to heat the water. Using cold water can help save money. When it comes to tasks such as manually washing dishes and brushing teeth, only running water when it is needed will not only save money, but conserve water resources.

Wildlife

• Many species of wildlife are dependent upon water resources, from desert animals in the southwestern United States to salmon in the Pacific Northwest. As water becomes more scarce, the populations of certain species also decreases. In addition, when certain ecosystems and environments aren't able to get the water they need to thrive they begin to decline, killing off the wildlife populations that depend on them.