READ: How We Use Water

How We Use Water

We use Earth's water resources in a variety of ways. One way is for irrigation of agricultural crops. Many crops are grown where there isn't enough rainfall for plants to thrive. For example,  crops are grown in deserts of the American, such as Utah. How is this possible?  Irrigation is an way of providing extra water to plants.

Most of the water used in agriculture is used for irrigation. Livestock also use water, but they use much less.  Irrigation can waste a lot of water because much of the water never reaches the crops. Instead, it evaporates in the air or runs off the fields. Irrigation water may dissolve agricultural chemicals such as fertilizer and wash the dissolved chemicals into groundwater or it could run off into lakes or rivers.  Salts in irrigation water can also collect in the soil. The soil may get too salty for plants to grow.

Irrigation is a common use of Earth's water resources. Photo courtesy of roger4336/Flickr. 

Almost a quarter of the water used worldwide is used in industry. Industries use water for  many purposes. They may use water to cool machines. Or they may use it in chemical processes. These uses of water may pollute it. Water is also used to generate electricity. While this use doesn’t pollute the water, it may dam up streams and rivers, which can harm wildlife.

Think about all the ways people use water at home. Besides drinking it, they use it for cooking, bathing, washing dishes, doing laundry, and flushing toilets. The water used
inside homes goes down the drain. It usually ends up in a sewer system. This water can be treated and reused. Households may also use water outdoors. If your family has a lawn or garden, you may water them with a hose or sprinkler. You may also use water to wash the car. Much of the water used outdoors evaporates or runs off. The runoff water may end up in storm
sewers. They carry it to a body of water, such as the ocean.

There are many ways to use water for fun, from white water rafting to snorkeling. These uses of water don’t actually use water up. If you were to guess which recreational activity
consumes the most water, what would you guess? Believe it or not, it’s golf! Playing golf doesn’t use water, but keeping golf courses green uses a lot of water. Many golf courses
have sprinkler systems. They keep the greens well watered. Much of this water is wasted.  It evaporates or runs off the ground.

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