What is Water Footprint and Rain Water Harvesting

People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing but even more for producing things such as food, paper and cotton cloth. A water footprint is an indicator that looks at both the direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business.

photo: en.reset.org/

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Some facts and figures about water use

• The production of one kilogram of beef requires 16 thousand litres of water.
• To produce one cup of coffee, we need 140 litres of water.
• The water footprint of China is about 700 cubic metre per year per capita. Only about seven percent of the Chinese water footprint falls outside China.
• Japan with a footprint of 1150 cubic meter per year per capita, has about 65 percent of its total water footprint outside the borders of the country.
• The USA's water footprint is 2500 cubic meter per year per capita.
• The Indian water footprint ist 980 cubic meter per year per capita, with just 2 precent of its total water footprint outside the borders of the country.
• The International Water Management Institute predicts that by 2025 in India alone, one in three people will live under “scarce water” conditions.

How to reduce your water footprint

Broadly speaking, you can reduce your direct water footprint by:

• installing water saving toilets;
• applying a water-saving shower head;
• turning off the tap while brushing your teeth;
• using less water in the garden; and
• not disposing of medicines, paints or other pollutants down the sink.
• Automatic faucet is a water conservation faucet that eliminates water waste at the faucet. It automates the use of faucets without the use of hands. Automatic faucets are common in public washrooms, particularly in malls, airports and hotels, where they are supposed to reduce water consumption..

Household applications

Commercial applications

Agricultural applications

Water Reuse

Rain water harvesting

We couldn’t broach the subject of managing water consumption in a more sustainable way without paying lip service to the act of collecting and storing rainwater for reuse, commonly referred to as rainwater harvesting. India has a long history of rainwater catching and storage with archaeologists discovering more than 60,000 rainwater harvesting structures in the country dating back as far as the third century BC.

Whether dwelling in the city or the country, rainwater harvesting allows you to take control of and monitor your direct water use. The Centre for Science and Environment has a detailed step-by-step guide for setting up your own rainwater harvesting system. Check here to get started.

credit/source: https://en.reset.org/act/save-water-reduce-your-water-footprint?gclid=CjwKEAiAz4XFBRCW87vj6-28uFMSJAAHeGZbcI4CY8CTf-G7lADDfP234oaAw9l2N5MX_SaD1K2nfRoCPIfw_wcB