Draft #1 Sustainable water solutions

Dayna Higashiyama

English 214

February 12, 2016

                                    Draft One for Essay #1

         Finding a sustainable yet affordable way to conserve our water during this drought has been tough, many failures and lack of hope. Water is key to our way of life and for over a hundred years have destroyed our natural resources for water because of mass development where water used to be, over pumping our aquifers, contaminating many of our rivers around the world and lastly, not taking our part in conserving it ourselves. We are constantly wasting water whether it comes to wasteful water usage, not allowed to catch rain water, putting sewage and trash into our streams and oceans, that’s just to name a few. If we are not able to find a sustainable route to conserve our water now, future generations will suffer tremendously and our human existence might be destroy faster than we thought.

         There have been many inventions, actions that are currently being tested, used or dismissed for common household use. Some actions that are currently being taken is catching and reusing rainwater. One law in that has been passed and currently enforced is the catching of rainwater, which in fact Southern California is struggling to sustain the amount of clean and useable water to their residents. Southern California does not receive much rain during fall or winter, but when it does, the cities allows precious water to flow down the streets, into drains and lastly into the ocean. If made legal to catch and harvest rainwater, communities can provide clean water to families and stop depleting other lakes, aquifers and surface water. Simple changes like that can improve our drought and hopefully one day we can be completely dependent on ourselves.

Fortunately, companies can help conserve and produce clean water for ourselves; we can also do simple tasks at home to keep our usage of water at a minimum. These simple changes such as using water quantity monitors, using water effective appliances, not watering our plants daily and excessively can help perverse more water. Along with doing simple improvements inside your house, you also can to the outside, such as changing your pipes to an efficient piping system. Efficient piping systems are insulated in and around along with being leak proof which limits your household water waste. With that being said, households can also take part in creating drought friendly yards and gardens. Putting grass in our yards requires gallons of water and kills off our natural plants in that area. Creating a drought friendly yard can bring more life, less water and more wildlife, depending on where you live. These positive changes can help be a fun, affordable, and helpful solution in finding a sustainable solution to our water crisis.  

         Simple changes can make a huge impact on the environment, the California drought and in our own homes. Changing the law to allow the catching and harvesting of rainwater allows simple yet an affordable way for communities to connect with their citizens and neighboring communities. By adding simple water quantity monitors and using the least amount of water possible in our daily habits can easily help decrease our drought a little. Communities and individuals in their daily lives should consider finding sustainably ways to help our water shortage and ultimately find a solution to our problem. Being involved just in your home will help, teaching others and expanding ideas with one another can help generations to come.