wasting water?

Question

How is it possible to 'waste' water? Like, when they say don't let the faucet run because you're wasting water...doesn't it just go back into the earth anyway? I thought it was cleaned at a water-treament center, then like, recycled...how is that wasting? I don't get it....

Answer 1

The answer depends heavily on where you are and how your water is won. If being in small village up in the Rocky Mountains and water is taken from a local creek, it does not really matter if it goes downhill directly or by your toilet. If it is a village or town, not all of the water of the creek should be used for toilets because otherwise there is no creek anymore - an no tourists coming for fishing. Not even a substatial part should be used for human neds (toilet, wahing, cleaning the dishes etc) without clearance because this would pollute the river and there might be no fish anmore as well,

If being in California, New Mexico or other states in the south, the water supply is taking from rivers - Rio Grande (Great River) is not great anymore because almost all water is taken by humans) - or from groundwater, sometimes even from groundwater reservoirs that took thousands of years to form. Taking more water from groundwater than is resupplied by nature means to lower the level of groundwater. The consequences are disastrous because the area of the reservoir will slowly turn into a desert. Plants can not reach water with their roots, ponds and lakes fall dry, rivers as well.In some of the southern states of the USA this is a serious problem. And in many other parts of the world as well. Ensuring access to clean drinking water for every human without destroying the basics of living has been marked as one of the most important problems for 21st century by the UN.

Answer 2

it's wasted several ways.... first, it's not USED.... a lot of energy at the treatment plant went into cleaning that water, as well as some chemicals that were added... that costs not only money, but also some of our 'green-ness'..... if you let it run down the drain, you just wasted water that COULD have been used for drinking or watering your plants....and then, too, if it's water from the hot faucet that runs down the drain, the energy used to heat it is also wasted....

once water goes down that drain, it's a long time coming back to us.... it must go thru treatment again, then go into a stream or river or lake, then make it back to the ocean... once there, it must be lifted by the sun as vapor, made into clouds and those need to come over your house, drop the water as rain, where it goes into either the lake or river where your water is drawn from, gets cleaned again.....or it filters down thru the earth to the aquifer where your well is drilled..... THEN it comes back out of the faucets in your house....

now, if you weren't getting ANY rain, like we aren't, you'd see that when they tell you that it's illegal for you to take a shower every day, flush your toilet every time and wash your clothes more than once a week and good grief, let your plants DIE... then you'd understand why NOT letting the water run is being a good steward of the resources of our Earth and not WASTING it is the better idea.......