It’s true. Water is a true magician, never holding still. In some countries, it’s worth its weight in gold. In other places, we like to pretend that we’ll never run out of it. It gives life, refreshing us. It can take life away, flooding our homes and schools. It’s the exact same thing prehistoric animals drank yet it is the exact water newborns are bathed in. It’s the only thing that comes naturally in three forms: liquid, gas, and solid. There is no other better Houdini. No matter how you place it though, no matter what it does, it is vital to the existence of humanity and life in general, whether you like it or not.

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Being such a precious resource, one would think that we’d take care of water, conserve and cherish it. However, this is not the case. Why is our water being plagued with a variety of problems such as acid rain, overuse (Canadians use 343 litres of water per day per person ), oil spilled, shortages, pollution, and a wide array of other problems?

 Water pollution is the most well-known reason for our dropping fresh water amount. The main reason for this is improper disposal of items from industrial waste and sewage all the way to household items such as drugs that are induced into the water system. Pollutants don’t necessarily have to be dumped into a body of water either. When they are dumped on the ground, chemicals leak into the water table. The water tables lead into rivers and some chemicals will ultimately be consumed- maybe even by you.

Though water pollution may be the most well-known reason for our dwindling fresh water supply, I believe that the biggest reason for our disappearing fresh water supply is our over usage. This may be because our water bills are very low in comparison to that of other countries. Canadians are charged 70 cents (U.S.) per 1,000 litres whereas those in Denmark, France, the U.K. and Netherlands pay $3 for the same amount. It may be that people are not aware of how much water they’re using when their utility bills are so low. Water use usually leads to deterioration of water quality so the less we use the less we disrupt aquatic ecosystems and the more we have in the future. When we extract water, we alter stream flows, we cause saltwater and dirty runoff water to enter our freshwater streams, and we end up needing to build dams- a short term solution to a problem that will only get bigger and bigger.

This brings me to the last main reason as to why our freshwater supply is declining- changes to our ordinary physical state of our Earth. This includes dams, walls, or other things that collect or divert water, deposits of large materials in a body of water, destroying plants or other organisms within a water system, excavation of rock, and so on. This makes it harder for Earth’s natural cycle to purify water.

Needless to say, water is in dire need of help. There is no ten-minute solution to solve an ever growing problem. There is no, super pill, no tricks. It’s logic, logic that we should all follow. Most regular people are unable to do anything- but it takes one person to make a difference no matter how big or how small.

Starting with your washroom would come first. No, I’m not going to tell you not to shower or to stop flushing the toilet. Instead, make alternatives. For example, take a shower instead of a bath- conserve water, save energy, save money. Also, change your showerhead to a low-flow one. It costs only $20 and cuts water usage by half of a standard shower. Next, get your leaky faucets and toilets repaired. Stunningly, one drop of water per second leads to a loss of 10, 000 litres a year- also known as 70 baths. Even more absurd: the average toilet uses 18L per flush. Buying an ultra low volume (ULV) model will cut your toilet’s water usage by 70 percent.

In other places around the house, you can find other ways to conserve water. When watering your lawn, water in the evening (so the water doesn’t evaporate right away) and use a soaker hose instead of a sprinkler. When washing your car, do it the old fashioned way. Grab a bucket and a sponge. About 400L of water is used to wash a car! Lastly, if you’re in the market for a new washing machine, buy one with an energy star label. These use 30-50% less water than a regular washing machine.

 Canadians are embarrassingly behind on water conservation. In just 42 years, the world’s population will reach about 9.4 billion. Is this not just more reason to conserve water? Water is our most precious resource. Isn’t it about time someone took a stance?