Water Efficiency May 2012 : Page 34
H2O, REDUX Recycling water eases the demand on limited water sources and promotes an environmentally favorable, economically realistic option for multiple applications. BY LORI LOVELY ater is a scarce commodity that must be conserved and managed. Due to population growth and environmental causes, this once-abundant natural resource is in increasingly short supply. Utility companies are raising water rates as they grapple with escalating treatment costs, replacement of aging infrastructure, accelerating power prices, regulatory mandates, and water scarcity. Water cov-ers roughly 71% of the surface of this blue planet, but most of that is seawater. About 3% of the earth’s water supply is fresh water, and nearly 70% of that is confined in glaciers and polar ice caps. Only 1% of the water on this planet is suitable for drinking, and only 0.08% of the world’s drink-able water is accessible to humans. With the world’s population now topping 7 billion, it’s no exaggeration when Guy Carpenter, vice president of W 34 WATER EFFICIENCY WWW.WATEREFFICIENCY.NET GLOBAL WATER
H2O, Redux
Lori Lovely
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