Uninterrupted access to clean, pure water is one of the advantages to living in the Unites States. Almost a billion people worldwide do not have the same privilege, and rely on other countries to provide them with safe drinking water. Water-related diseases are also rampant all over the world, causing more than 200 days of missed school days every year, according to UNICEF.
You can help by contributing to organizations that support bringing clean water to ailing nations. The money goes to digging wells and creating water systems in third world countries, and helping those that are already suffering from water-related illnesses. But first take a look at your own water usage, and consider if you are wasting the water you have access to. If so, you can relieve this by taking the necessary steps to preserve the amount of drinking water that comes into your home every second.
In many American homes, millions of gallons of water are consumed every year. In fact, the EPA estimates that the average home uses about 100 gallons of water daily, and that about 90 gallons of this water is wasted in 10% of homes because of leaky faucets and pipes. In addition, 2.6 billion cases of bottled water are sold on a yearly basis, and each person consumes an annual average of about 167 bottles. This means that extra energy is being expended on recycling plastic, assuming that everyone who uses a water bottle puts their empty container into the recycling bin.
The glaring statistic here is not the numbers, but the waste that is produced. For this reason, more people have begun to utilize glass, tin, and BPA-free reusable bottles for drinking. Perhaps a more significant contributor to curbing waste is a countertop water filtration system.
Unlike common portable water filters, a countertop water filtration system connects right to your faucet. The system typically comes with a housing unit that holds the filter, a base with a water hose and faucet piece connected to it, and a water diverter valve, which decides whether tap or filtered water comes out of your faucet. After taking the aerator off of the tip of your faucet, you replace it with the new system’s one, and add on the diverter. This water filtration system ultimately gives you access to purified water as often as you like, and you will typically only have to replace the filter twice a year.
This filtered water can be poured into your reusable bottles, and can be refilled periodically. This reduces the need to purchase water bottles that may or may not make it to the recycling bin. Most importantly, you never have to worry about drinking tap water, which contains an large quantity of unknown contaminants.
The right to clean pure water is truly a privilege, and it is critical to help conserve as much water and energy as possible to keep the environment free of pollutants. Along with contributing to local and international water conservation organizations, countertop water filtration systems are a solid way to do this. More can be found here.
