Water Quality: How You Can Make a Positive Impact

Water quality. It’s not something we typically worry about here in America. In fact, it is something we probably take for granted. Without a second thought, we turn on the faucet in our homes and clear, clean water comes rushing out, ready for drinking or washing or watering. But what if that was not the case? Even in America, there are many factors that can contribute to–or take away from–our water quality. And since August is National Water Quality Month, we’d like to share a few ways that you can ensure that your actions affect our water quality in a positive way.

1) Manage the Stormwater Runoff at Your Home and Place of Business.

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The top cause for water pollution in America is stormwater runoff. Rain or snowmelt collects everything from dirt to bacteria to chemicals as it runs into our storm drains. These drains then deposit the water untreated into our local water bodies. We took an extensive look at stormwater runoff earlier this year. If you’re not familiar with the term, it is defined and explained in this post. To see what kinds of damage stormwater runoff has caused, check out this post. And finally, to see what you can do to manage stormwater runoff, take a look at this post. If we each take responsibility for the water that lands on our homes and businesses, we can greatly reduce water pollution!

2) Know What You are Putting Down the Drain.

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Our sewer treatment plants are not able to eliminate 100% of the chemicals and toxins that we put down our drains. Soaps, lotions, creams, pharmaceuticals, detergents – they all end up in our water supply. To cut down on this type of water pollution, consider switching to environmentally friendly and nontoxic cleaners and personal care products. You should also properly dispose of hazardous household chemicals (paints, prescriptions, motor oil, pool chemicals, insecticides, etc.), to ensure they don’t end up in our water supply.

Find an extensive list of things you can do to help clean up our water supply via this article by the NRDC.

3) Use Water Wisely.

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Did you know that our freshwater supply is not unlimited? In fact, of all of the water in the world, 99.7% of it isn’t usable by humans! And once the little bit of freshwater we have runs out, we won’t be able to get it back. Many areas of our country are already experiencing water shortage with the record-breaking drought that is happening right now out west. Obviously, without freshwater, we’ll have to figure out how to use sea water, and water quality will be a whole new ballgame.

So how do we use water wisely? A great place to start would be rain harvesting! Around 70% of freshwater in America is used for irrigation. Even the simplest rain harvesting systems will use the rain water that falls on your roof to irrigate your lawn. If we could cut water use back in domestic irrigation alone, just think of the amounts water we could save! Not to mention rain harvesting systems that recycle greywater or use rain water for households uses. If more of our country could rely on rain water, we could potentially reverse the water crisis that is impending if we don’t.

You can also find lots of tips on how to conserve water over at Water Use it Wisely.

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Right now, water quality in America is under control; BUT if our current habits continue, this could no longer be the case. Will you join us in protecting our nation’s water supply? We would love to answer any questions you may have. Find us on Facebook, Google +, or contact us via our website.