Educational campaigns about the save of the water in the US: Water, Water, Everywhere ! But Not A Drop To Drink

Only 2% of all the water on Earth is actually fit for consumption and, yes, that includes all the fresh water that is trapped in ice caps. Take the ice away and its less than 1%! Everyone knows that water is essential to all forms of life but some of us continue to use water as though it were an inexhaustible resource. While somewhere around a billion people across the world do not have adequate access to safe drinking water, only around 8% actually receive the treated water that many people take for granted.


All this has meant that countries across the world have started becoming more and more interested in the two challenges that water presents. Firstly, governments are becoming more and more conscious of the need to find, implement and fund effective water management processes; particularly those targeted at treating waste water. Secondly, there is the recognition that citizens have to be educated about how to save water by using it sensibly and economically as well as understand the environmental impacts of wastage.

Waste Not, Want Not

In America, water usage has risen by 127% in 60 years but out of all the water that actually flows into American homes a staggering 95% goes down the drain: wasted! The average household uses about 260 gallons everyday, just leaving the tap running while brushing your teeth is about four gallons right there! Toilets are by far the main culprit in any household and switching to a more water-efficient one can save $2000 over its lifetime. Wasting water also usually means wasting energy. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reckon that if just 20% of American homes switched to water-efficient clothes washers the amount of energy saved daily could power over a million homes!

Changing Attitudes

If saving water is also saving money, it shouldn't be too hard to convince people to change their ways! The EPA's WaterSense campaign seeks to promote water efficiency and provide information that enables people to make smart choices about water without compromising on performance. A big part of the scheme is the promotion of a WaterSense label on products which lets consumers know that whatever they are buying is water-efficient. Since 2006, WaterSense has saved the country over 287 billion gallons of water and American wallets some $4.7 billion! The United Nations (UN) takes a different approach. The UN World Water Day is on the 22nd of March every year. This year, the theme is 'water cooperation' and the UN is emphasising how good water management is not only