How does wasting fresh water affect the environment?

Question

If water is part of a closed system; it does not leave the planet, then how does wasting fresh water negatively affect the environment?

Answer 1

not directly ,directly the Environment loves to get more water .
But the people will end up using more WHEN THEY RUN OUT
and over pump aquifers ,rivers and wells .or use too much water from the reservoirs.

Causing desertification in places .
so yes then the Environment begins to suffer .

And in the end so do we
It always comes back to us to suffer the most in the end .
How unfair

On top of that Humanity contaminates water more and more ,and good quality water is higher up and further away all the time.
Huge amounts of potable water that before was released very slowly from mountain glaziers now runs fast into the sea instead.

You are right , we don`t actually lose water from the planet ,but it becomes different water ,no use to us directly .

We do on the other hand lose POTABLE quality water ,this gets less all the time .

But not all is lost there are ways in which we can pull up our socks .Rainwater harvesting ,water conservation ,responsible usage etc (see answer below)

But unfortunately not enough people ,companies .countries ,governments are doing that

Do they not have socks or do they just not care ,or don`t they know how to pull .or are they unaware.

Here are some examples of economic ,responsible and wise Environmental behavior as regards to Water and WHY

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuyumW3AfMdnVGUB7zEuDq3sy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071001175406AAED6I7

Answer 2

Water from houshold use finds its way into rivers and eventually into the ocean but along the way it mixes with the waste water from millions of other homes. This is a problem because its usually mixed with nutrient rich pollutants such as laundry liquid or detergants. This water leads to the eutrophication of estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems. Eutrophication or the increased nutrient loads in rivers changes the types of plankton that live in the water from productive diatoms to organisms that bloom in high numbers that choke waterways such as blue/green algae and dinoflagelates. This interupts the foodchain between phytoplankton, zooplankton and higher trophic organisms thus ruducing the abundance of larger fishes, birds and marine mamals. Some algae are toxic to not only animals but humans and if the algae dies bacteria can romove all the oxygen from the water killing anything that lives in the surrounding environment. Im not going to bother with the effect on water storages because unless you live somwhere that has water shortages then it doesnt matter.

Answer 3

Too many ifs in your question. Fresh water is never wasted, as water exists in abundance. However, fresh TAP water must be created and wasting water from the Tap causes the wastewater treatment plant to work more to create it for you. Many of these treatment plants put out noxious waste in order to create this fresh water. The waste is therefore a burden on the environment. It's minor, to be sure, but the added need for tap water does affect the environment.

Answer 4

once you run out of water you isn't wishing which you had invested interior the water organization, you will wish you had a cistern and stay someplace that gets sufficient rainfall. medical examine, journey from around the globe and the reality that under pressure water aspects are a project autonomous of the reality that that they are going to be exacerbated by potential of climate exchange do not enter into your calculation. worldwide Warming = Bogus technology = Lie. subsequently something helping AGW = Propaganda. effective. edit: What potential and who will pay to make that blue planet water in positive condition to drink? below a million% is drinkable with minimum processing. lots extra value-effective, much less environmental impact, lots smarter to not squander the clean water source interior the 1st place. How is it returned that your way is making issues extra ideal for human beings? permit the human beings interior the 0.33 international die? large. while it comes it is going to know no limitations. whether the 1st international is in a position to mitigate and ward off on the price of the 0.33, it is going to get very, very costly interior the least. do not youngster your self that we isn't impacted. edit" that's 3% yet that includes icecaps and glacier. Potable floor and floor water is below a million%

Answer 5

it lowers the aquafeuer(water table)