In this day and age, it can be hard for some people to spend enough time outdoors. White water rafting is a fantastic way to spend the day in the sunshine surrounded by nature.
It’s great exercise
Rafting is a whole lot more than just sitting in a boat! Paddling and balancing the boat requires people to use many different muscle groups. Depending on your weight and the difficulty of the river, you could burn about 350 calories per hour of rafting.
Rafting helps you de-stress
Even though rafting isn’t relaxing in the traditional sense of the word, it is an excellent way to de-stress. Getting away from the humdrum annoyances of everyday life and doing something totally different is the best way to refresh your mind.
The main objective of soil moisture conservation is to minimize the amount of water lost from the soils through evaporation (water loss directly from the soil) and transpiration (water loss occurring through the plants) – or combined, the evapotranspiration. Preserving soil moisture is important means to maintain the necessary water for agricultural production, and also helps minimize irrigation needs of the crops. This is especially important in areas where rainwater and/or groundwater resources for irrigation are scarce or decreasing due to climate change or other causes.
There are a variety of methods that can be used to conserve soil moisture. Most of these soil moisture conservation techniques are relatively low cost and complexity approaches, primarily relying on the presence of required materials and technical capacity locally. Many of the methods rely on providing some kind of cover for the soil to minimize evapotranspiration and direct soil exposure to heat and sun. Generally, most methods used for soil quality improvement and conservation, will also yield benefits to soil moisture conservation. Examples of methods for reducing excess soil moisture loss include following:
Spreading manure or compost over the soil – this minimizes evapotranspiration and also provides valuable nutrients to the soil through processes of decomposition
Mulching – mulch is a layer of organic (or inorganic) material that is placed on the root zone of the plants. Examples of mulch materials include straw, wood chips, peat. Inorganic mulch in form of plastic sheeting is also used. Mulching is most suited for low to medium rainfall areas, and less suited for areas with very wet conditions.
Conservation tillage – reducing or, in extreme cases, completely eliminating the tillage to maintain healthy soil organic levels which increases the soils capacity to absorb and retain water. Conservation tillage is a specific type of such approach where crop residue is left on the soil to reduce evapotranspiration, and protect soil surface from wind, sun and heavy rain impacts.
Crop rotation – growing different types of crops every season helps improve soil structure and thus water holding capacity. Examples include rotating deep-rooted and shallow rooted crops that make use of previously unused soil moisture, as plants draw water from different depth levels within the soil. Crop rotation may also improve soil fertility and help control pests and diseases.
Green manuring – growing of plant materials with the sole purpose of adding to the soil for improved organic matter and nutrients. The improved soil quality then also improves water retention capacity.
Deep tillage – suited for some areas and soils, deep tillage can help increase porosity and permeability of the soil to increase its water absorption capacity.
Mixed cropping and interplanting – cultivating a combination of crops with different planting times and different length of growth periods.
Contour ploughing – by ploughing the soil along the contour instead of up- and downward slopes, the velocity of runoff is reduced, creating even barriers, and more water is retained in the soils and distributed more equally across the cropland.
Strip cropping – growing erosion permitting crops and erosion resisting crops in alternate strips. Other soil moisture conservation techniques may include rainwater harvesting to minimize runoff and collect water for use on site. For more technologies on this see technology sheet Rainwater harvesting for infiltration.
Environmental Benefits of Soil Moisture Conservation Techniques
– The benefits of many soil conservation methods, depending on the material used, may also include better control of weeds, provision of additional nutrients to the soil, soil temperature control and protection of soil surface from the impacts of heavy rain and wind. – Active reuse of waste organic materials also reduces waste management needs, returning the residue crops and plants to the soil through decomposition. Socioeconomic Benefits – Potential to reduce water irrigation needs, increase crop productivity and improve soil quality – By extension, reduced irrigation needs may also reduce the costs and energy requirements of water pumping for irrigation.
Opportunities and Barriers of Soil Moisture Conservation Techniques
Opportunities
Improved soil moisture goes hand in hand with improved soil quality thus potentially
improving harvest and reducing soil degradation
Opportunities for using existing waste materials may considerably reduce costs and needs for waste handling
Many soil conservation methods are relatively low cost and complexity approaches, primarily relying on the presence of required materials and technical capacity locally
May create new income and synergies between different crop variety farmers (e.g. using palm oil production residues for mulching).
Barriers
In some settings crop residues are not necessarily ‘residues’, and may already be used for animal fodder, thus necessitating additional investment for soil conservation purposes
Planting of new cycle of crops through mulch or other crop residues may be difficult for nonmechanized agriculture, thus may not be suited in all locations.
* This adaptation technology brief includes a general assessment of four dimensions relating to implementation of the technology. It represents an indicative assessment scale of 1-5 as follows: Technological maturity: 1 – in early stages of research and development, to 5 – fully mature and widely used Initial investment: 1 – very low cost, to 5 – very high cost investment needed to implement technology Operational costs: 1 – very low/no cost, to 5 – very high costs of operation and maintenance Implementation timeframe: 1 – very quick to implement and reach desired capacity, to 5 – significant time investments needed to establish and/or reach full capacity
This assessment is to be used as an indication only and is to be seen as relative to the other technologies included in this guide. More specific costs and timelines are to be identified as relevant for the specific technology and geography.
You don’t need to use chemical fertilizers to have a thriving garden. Creating garden beds and landscapes that have active underground ecosystem of earthworms and microorganisms that keep plants healthy can be achieved using composted soil with organic materials that include micronutrients and minerals. Applying compost also provides an aerated, non-compacted base for plant roots to thrive and to absorb water and nutrients, which is key in ensuring plant health. Healthy plants mean better wildlife habitat.
Practice Water Conservation
Conventional lawns and many ornamental exotic plants require an exorbitant amount of clean water to stay green. Choosing native plants that are adapted to regional rainfall and soil moisture content is a great way to conserve this precious resource. You can also collect water in rain barrels for use in the garden.
In suburban and urban areas, much of the water that hits the landscape washes away down the storm drains, often carrying pollutants and soil with it. Reducing your lawn in favor of densely planted garden beds helps minimize runoff, and you can plant a rain garden specifically designed to collect and absorb rainwater to keep if from pouring into storm drains.
Water is a precious commodity. Humans extract it from the ground and as a result, the water table may drop, damaging habitats miles away. We divert water from rivers and lakes which reduces flow rate, possibly impacting fish, herons, otters, mussels, and thousands of other kinds of wildlife.
Ways to Conserve Water in Your Garden:
Mulch planting beds with newspaper, leaves, bark, or wood chips. Mulches retain soil moisture and improve soil quality.
Water your plantings with a soaker hose or a drip irrigation system. Less water evaporates this way than with a sprinkler, and you target your watering.
Use a timing device with any watering system.
Use “wasted” water for your plants. A rain barrel or cistern that captures rainfall from your roof is a great garden reservoir. In some areas, gray water – water from bathing or washing clothes – can legally be diverted to garden use.
If we all do our part in saving precious water supplies, we can make a huge difference for the environment.
The average person uses around 140 litres of water a day. But huge water deficits are on track to occur by the 2080s – so we need to start cutting down.
Water conservation means using water wisely and not contributing to unnecessary wastage.
Top reasons to conserve water:
Conserving water saves energy. Energy is needed to filter, heat and pump water to your home, so reducing your water use also reduces your carbon footprint.
Using less water keeps more in our ecosystems and helps to keep wetland habitats topped up for animals like otters, water voles, herons and fish. This is especially important during drought periods and in areas like South East England where there is a big demand on water supplies.
Conserving water can save you money. If you have a water meter then the less water you use, the less you may be charged by your water company.
Waiting for the tap to run cold can waste 10 litres of tap water a day!
Save water in the kitchen:
Put a large bottle of tap water in the fridge to save waiting for the tap to run cold. Waiting for the tap to run cold can waste 10 litres of water a day!
Only fill the kettle with the amount of water needed.
Put lids on saucepans to reduce the amount of water lost during heating.
Put your dishwasher and washing machine on with full loads and on an eco-setting wherever possible.
Use a washing-up bowl in your sink to reduce the volume of water you use to fill the area.
Save water in the bathroom:
Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth. A running tap can waste more than 6 litres of water a minute!
Purchase a water-efficient toilet (one with a dual flush) or go by the old saying ‘if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down!’
Get a cistern displacement device to save up to 5,000 litres of water every year. They are free from most water companies.
Shower instead of bathe. An average bath uses around 80 litres of water, but a shower typically uses between 6 and 45 litres.
Install water-efficient taps and showers to minimise heating water – this will save you money on your water and energy bills, as well as decreasing your carbon footprint.
Fix a dripping tap. A dripping tap can waste 15 litres of water a day!
Save water in the garden:
Sprinklers can use as much as 1,000 litres of water an hour! In truth, it’s okay for the lawn to go brown, it will recover the next time it rains.
Use a water butt to catch large amounts of rainwater and use this to water your plants, clean your car and wash your windows.
Use mulch and bark in your garden, it will help to reduce evaporation by up to 75%.
Plant drought-resistant plants that don’t require as much watering.
More useful tips and in-depth information can be found on the whitewaterblackgold.com website.
Long showers feel great, but with every minute you spend pampering yourself, your wallet and the environment struggle. Along with saving money on your monthly bills, water conservation is critical for your community. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s likely that at least 40 states will experience water shortages by 2024
Follow these tips for how to save water at home:
1. Be mindful of running water.
Don’t keep the faucet running the entire time you’re brushing your teeth or washing your hands. You may have heard this one before, but it’s easy to lazily run the faucet instead of turning it off while scrubbing and then turning the tap back on when you’re ready to rinse. Similarly, avoid luxuriously long showers. Try to limit shower time to 10 to 15 minutes maximum to prevent wasting excess gallons of water.
2. Fix leaks as soon as possible.
Look out for leaky faucets, dripping water from shower heads, rusting pipes and signs of water damage. Locate the source of the leak, and fix it immediately to avoid wasting more water.
3. Don’t let the toilet run.
If you notice that your toilet is constantly running, try replacing the flapper. Simply shut off the water to the toilet, and flush to drain the tank. Unhook the old flapper from the base of the tank and chain, and then replace it with the new one. Turn the water back on, and you’re all set. If that doesn’t work, it may be time to buy a new toilet. Look for an energy-efficient model, and follow these steps to remove the old unit and install the new one.
4. Wash full loads only.
Make sure the dishwasher and washing machine are full before you run them. If you have a unit with energy-saving settings for light washes and smaller loads, take advantage of them. When it’s time to invest in a new machine, look for water-saving models with the settings that allow you to adjust to load size.
5. Use a compost bin.
An in-sink garbage disposal needs a lot of water to work efficiently, so opt for a compost bin instead. It’s healthier for the environment while reducing water waste and increasing the energy efficiency of your home.
6. Insulate pipes.
Be sure to insulate exposed pipes around the house, especially in the attic and basement. When they’re not insulated, it takes longer for water to heat up, meaning it’s running for longer periods of time. You can also cover the water heater with insulating blanket to further speed up the process.
7. Run the sprinklers in the morning.
The optimal time to water your lawn is early morning. This strategy prevents rapid evaporation from midday heat, which means less water is required to sufficiently cover the grass. Avoid rogue sprinklers wasting water by spraying the sidewalk or side of the house, instead positioning them to face the grass and landscaping appropriately.
8. Perform routine appliance maintenance.
Proper appliance care and upkeep can prevent potential leaks and wasted energy. This preventative maintenance includes regular cleaning and seeking professional advice when necessary. Plus, if it’s time for an upgrade, buy energy-saving products and appliances. According to the EPA, the average household can use about 20 percent less water with water-efficient fixtures and appliances.
Complement your water conservation at home with these ways to increase energy efficiency. With mindful changes, you can reduce your carbon footprint and save money each month.
If you notice spikes in your water bill, serious leaks or other maintenance issues during your water conservation efforts, don’t hesitate to call a professional.
Being prepared before maintenance issues arise is always a good strategy. Plans from White water black Gold can help with the costs of covered repairs. See what plans are available in your area.
Before we talk about the conservation of water, here are a few facts and figures that’ll help you understand the importance of water conservation.
‘76 million people in India do not have access to safe drinking water.’
‘54% of India faces high to extremely high water stress.’
Shocking, isn’t it!
Conservation of water is the need of the hour as water is a limited natural resource and in order to ensure that it is adequate for all, we need to use water with more care so as to minimize the wastage of water. One can’t stress enough about the importance of saving water. Thus, here are a few quick tips on how to save water or more importantly, how to conserve water that we should all follow unfailingly. These simple tips for water conservation in our daily life can help to effectively combat the problems related to water shortage.
5 Simple Ways To Save Water Daily
1. Take a Shower of 5 Minutes or Less
Love taking super long showers? According to this research, on average, an individual might be wasting 17 gallons of water per shower. That’s right!
If you were to multiply this number with all the members of your family, you’d notice the amount of water wasted is outrageous, to say the least. As such, one of the best methods of conservation of water that you can do right at home, right now, is cutting-down long showers.
It is one of the easiest ways to save water at home. Also, depending on the efficiency of your shower-head, you could be typically using 5 gallons (18 litres) of water per minute. To conserve water, it is ideal to take a shower of 5 minutes or less and this simple change in your daily routine can help save up to 70 litres of water per shower. Plus, you can also replace your shower-head with a low-flow shower-head to save water.
2. Install a Water-saving Toilet Flush System
This is one of the other excellent tips to save water!
One of the largest sources of domestic water wastage is flushing toilets. It is estimated that old toilets use an insane amount of water (5 to 7 gallons) per flush. Thus, by installing the latest water-saving toilet flush system, you can save up to 700 litres of water each year.
This water-saving method is slowly gaining traction, as more and more people are becoming aware of how small steps for water conservation can have an overall greater impact on the environment.
Moreover, by switching to newer models that use a lower volume of water to flush toilets, you not only significantly reduce water consumption but also save money on your water bill, which is a win-win for both – you as well as the environment.
3. Turn Off the Tap While Brushing Your Teeth & Washing Your Hands
How many times have you left the tap running while brushing your teeth or washing your hands & face or while shaving? Too many times to count, correct? Thus, if you are serious about conserving water, then this is one of the most basic water-saving ideas that you can put into practice everywhere you go – from home (especially while brushing teeth) to office, restaurants, and more.
You can save up to 20 litres per day just by turning off the tap while brushing your teeth or washing your hands and face. This water conservation method can be easily put into practice in every household and the benefit of this, like water-saving toilets – is two-fold i.e water conservation as well as a lower water bill.
4. Don’t Keep The Tap Running While Washing Clothes/Utensils
Another common everyday household chore that leads to considerable water wastage is keeping the tap running while washing clothes and utensils. Here, one of the recommended tips on saving water is to wait until the sink is full and wash dishes all at once instead of washing them one-by-one under a running tap.
Likewise, for machine washing, a full load of laundry is a water-efficient choice. Whereas, for hand-washing, using less amount of detergent will require less water for rinsing.
Turning off the tap while washing clothes and dishes is one of the efficient ways to conserve water. This will save more than 50 litres of water per day. Plus, if you are using a washing machine or a dishwasher, then by following this tip you can save water and electricity.
5. Close Taps Properly and Fix Leaking Taps, Pipes & Toilets
Apart from turning-off taps when not in use, another way of saving water is to do a regular maintenance check and fix/replace old leaking taps, pipes and toilets. By doing this, you can save up to 75 litres of water each day which is huge and combines with all your efforts of conservation of water at home.Here is an infographic on Top 5 Ways To Save Water In Your Home Take a look!
Various Other Methods of Water Conservation
Apart from the above 5 methods of water conservation, a few other tips to save water at home includes;
Never throw/drain leftover water in a glass or bottle. This can be used for watering a plant or to fill water bowls kept for birds.
Don’t water your lawn every day, twice a week is enough. Also, to reduce loss from evaporation, the best time to water the lawn is early morning.
Install a residential water purifier for home use. Instead of buying bottled water and throwing away leftover water, you can switch to a water filter, which is a convenient way of getting clean and safe water right at home. This will help save money, reduce unnecessary water wastage, and help reduce the disposal of plastic bottles in landfills, which will help save the environment.
Instead of hosing down your driveway or sidewalk or steps, use a broom to clean leaves and other debris. This will help you save hundreds of gallons of water.
Switch to water-efficient products and appliances for your home and office use.
#Conclusion
‘Save Water Save Life’ – this quote rings true as all life stems from the water. By following these simple tips to conserve water, you can avoid daily wastage of water. And, this, in turn, can help us make a water-sufficient country where everyone has access to safe drinking water all year around.
Clean fresh water is a very limited resource. Of all of the water that exists on Planet Earth, less than 1 percent of it is usable fresh water. Water is so important for our own bodies that we can only survive for 3 to 5 days without it [1]. We bathe in fresh water. We use it to wash our clothes and our dishes. We cook with it. We clean with it, and we drink it.
For most of us, we use water for many activities on a daily basis. And all of this daily water consumption adds up to a lot of water.
Every day, an average American family uses more than 300 gallons (1,135 liters) of water and around 70 percent of that is used indoors, with the bathroom accounting for the largest share since a toilet alone can use 24 percent [2]!
Such a high water consumption is far from the 1.2 billion people in the world who lack adequate access to water and use less than 5 gallons (19 liters) per person per day [7].
Why should we conserve water and help preserve water resources we have?
There is no more water being produced on our planet
The amount of water that we have on Earth today is the same amount of water that it has always had.
For increasing number of people living in our world today, the fresh clean water that does exists and is available on our planet is becoming less and less accessible.
We are losing our freshwater supplies
As the world continues to warm, freshwater will become more limited in the future for all of us.
We are already seeing more drought conditions throughout the globe, and as the climate continues to warm we will see increased drought and desertification in many places around the world. That will make it very challenging to provide enough water for a growing global population.
Modern lifestyle supports water wasting
And yet, in many ways, we continue to waste water through activities such as watering of lawns, using agricultural, industrial, and municipal methods that are very water-consumptive, and often polluting fresh water through agricultural runoff and through the use of chemicals.
The watering of lawns is a particularly wasteful activity, as we water our lawns with fresh potable water at a time in history when many people around the world do not have enough water to meet even their basic daily needs.
If we do not begin to seriously conserve our precious clean freshwater resources now, we may all find ourselves in a world of increased conflicts, fighting over what usable water remains. This is a future that very few would desire.
Our future doesn’t have to be so disastrous, however. Today, all of us can make important choices each time that we use water. Each decision of how we use water has the potential to make a positive impact for the future of our global water resources.
How can you conserve water at home? The best water saving devices for the home
The wasteful management of this key resource also has, beyond the multiple environmental consequences, economic implications for every household. While it is generally accepted that energy efficiency measures, such as double-glazed windows offer a clear advantage to consumers, the same benefits are not as widely supported when it comes to water saving technologies.
By introducing water saving devices in every home, households stand to curb their water bills and help conserve water resources.
Here are some great solutions that provide a great return on investment for you and at the same time significantly help to reduce your water consumption:
#1 More efficient flushing
Nowadays, standard toilets use 1.6 gallons (6 liters) per flush, but older toilets, for example such as those before 2001, may use as much as 3.5 to 7 gallons (13 to 26.5 liters) per flush.
In the UK alone, this difference in standards could save around 600 million liters of water a day and over 65,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year [4].
There is one gadget that can help bring older toilets up to the standard of newer ones and help conserve water when flushing. It is the Hippo. It is easy to install and lasts a very long time. The Hippo is a type of polyethylene bag which can be manually placed in the water underneath the cistern float [4]. When the toilet flushes, and the water confined in the bag is saved.
#2 Water saving shower heads
We all know how important it is to turn the tap off when applying soap or shampoo and only keep the water running when rinsing. But there is more we can do to make our showers more water efficient.
Installing water efficient shower heads can save you up to 10 gallons (38 liters) of water for each 10-minute shower, depending on the model you choose. In an average family of four that adds up to 2,700 gallons (10,220 liters) of heated water per month [5].
Similarly, installing a low flow faucet aerator helps minimize the amount of water that flows out of the faucet, so less water is used overall.
#3 Smart sprinklers
Households consume a lot of water for outdoor activities, primarily when looking after gardens and watering plants. It was therefore only a matter of time until innovators dabbled with updating the traditional garden sprinklers.
The Droplet sprinkler helps conserve both water and energy by connecting it to a smartphone or tablet. When connected the Droplet sprinkler can develop a customized water schedule for the specific garden or set of plants using information from the Droplet sprinkler’s vast data network.
This tailored and targeted watering uses as little as 10 percent of the water of traditional sprinklers and save over $250 per year, in addition to thousands of gallons of water [6].
#4 Grey water diverter
Another way to conserve water is to divert water used in the bathroom or kitchen and reuse it for other purposes, particularly for watering the garden or washing cars.
In most households, this water goes straight into the sewage, but a grey water diverter can divert this water and store it in a storage vessel or connect it directly to a water hose.
While this would help conserve water, it is important to note that the grey water is often mixed with cosmetics or household cleaners that can harm the environment in large quantities. Unless all the products that are used in the household are eco-friendly, it would make sense to opt for a grey water diverter valve.
This means that instead of having a simple equal tees waste pipe splitter which is connected into the bathroom wastepipe before it joins the sewer pipe, a valve and a manual switch are added on to that so that you can choose which water can be conserved and which should not.
Other little actions you can take to make the difference
Do not forget to turn your faucets off when running water is no longer needed.
You can choose to landscape your lawn in a way that does not require watering. Opt for native plants and grasses as these are more likely to thrive with rainfall and very minimal additional irrigation.
Your diet can also have a tremendous impact of water conservation. Eating less meat can make a real improvement to water scarcity as a typical hamburger can take 630 gallons (2,384 liters) to produce.
Also, do not forget to support companies that include water conservation as one of their corporate values and farming practices that conserve water.
Support public policies and organizations that are working to conserve our global water resources for future generations.
Most of all, you should be mindful of how much water you use, conserve water wherever you can, and have an attitude of gratitude for the water that is still available to many of us.
What are we currently doing to protect global freshwater resources?
Governments around the world are legislating to ensure that water used for industrial purposes is cleaned up before being reintroduced in the water stream, the same goes for water used in cities and households as the sewage system and water treatment processes aim to clean the water.
Initiatives are in place to ensure that our farming activities impact the environment and our freshwater resources to a lesser extent. Farmers often use pesticides and fertilizers to grow crops; their use pollutes water used for irrigation and causes imbalances in the aquatic ecosystems where that water ends up.
That is the reason why this issue needs our ultimate attention and international effort to protect this vital resource.
This UNECE’s (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) agreement aims to protect and ensure the quantity, quality and sustainable use of transboundary water resources by facilitating cooperation across countries.
Members of the Convention agree to cooperating on the management of transboundary waters by entering into specific agreements and establishing joint bodies. While initially negotiated as a regional instrument, as of March 2016 other UN member states can sign up to this Convention, making this into a universally available legal framework for transboundary water cooperation initiative.
Addressing water issues in developing countries
While progress is being made in many parts of the world, some developing regions still do not take water protection seriously.
For example, the state of water in countries like China is rather bad: 20 percent of the groundwater in China used as drinking water is highly contaminated with carcinogenic chemicals which cause high levels of water pollution.
One very important element is to make sure that developing regions invest in protecting their freshwater resources better to eliminate discrepancies in legislative ambition for water protection.
This can be achieved by putting pressure on local governments as well as supporting civil society organizations working on the ground in compromised regions to deliver projects that will help clean and protect our planet’s freshwater resources.
Well, water-avoiders of the world, it’s time to change. This is especially important in these hot summer months when dehydration is a concern.
Drinking water is key to optimal health and is essential. Your body is about 60 to 70 percent water, and water helps provide a balance of body fluids, keeps your skin looking healthy, assists your kidney health, and helps maintain normal bowel function.
Benefits of Drinking Water
Here are six reasons to make sure you’re drinking enough water or other fluids every day:
Water keeps you young – Drinking plenty of water keeps your skin moisturized and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Drinking water is good for your joints – Your joints need moisture in order to remain strong and flexible so that your movements are smooth and pain free.
Water makes you smarter – Water increases your cognitive function. Your brain needs a lot of oxygen in order to function at optimal levels.
Water protects your heart – It may sound crazy, but drinking a large amount of water could possibly help prevent heart attacks.
You can lose weight from drinking water – Water suppresses your appetite, so you don’t eat as much. Drinking plenty of water also prevents fluid retention.
Drinking water keeps you alert – Dehydration is a huge cause of fatigue. By drinking water you will be more alert and active during the day.
How Much Water Do You Need?
According to Natalie Newell, registered dietitian for REX Wellness Center of Wakefield, while it’s a good rule of thumb to consume at least 64 ounces of water per day, “no single person is the same, so it’s important to pay attention to your daily hydration needs. A great way to pay attention to your hydration level is to pay attention to your thirst level and urine output and color.”
You need to drink fluids daily, even though foods like fruits and vegetables can provide you with some liquids. Consuming foods with high water content also allows you to feel fuller, helping you control calorie intake.
Foods with high water content include:
Fruits and vegetables like watermelon, celery, tomatoes, melon and oranges
Soups
Popsicles (but watch the sugar)
Smoothies (same sugar warning here)
But you should still be drinking:
Plain old water (the best choice)
Hot or cold tea, unsweetened
Coconut water
Sparkling water
Natural juices—make sure there’s no sugar added, and drink in moderation
Water with added fresh fruit
For all the people who dislike the taste of water, here are some tips to make it easier to enjoy:
Add crushed ice and a squeeze of lemon
Add cucumber, strawberries or other fresh fruit or vegetables
Find a bottle or special cup you enjoy using, especially one that keeps water ice-cold
Use a water-tracking app to gamify water consumption
Set goals, like 40 ounces of water before lunch and then 40 ounces before dinner.
What do you, the trees, and a hamster have in common? Give up? You all need water. All living things must have water to survive, whether they get it from a water fountain, a rain cloud, or a little bottle attached to the side of a hamster cage.
Without water, your body would stop working properly. Water makes up more than half of your body weight, and a person can’t survive for more than a few days without it. Why? Your body has lots of important jobs and it needs water to do many of them. For instance, your blood, which contains a lot of water, carries oxygen to all the cells of your body. Without oxygen, those tiny cells would die and your body would stop working.
Water is also in lymph (say: limp), a fluid that is part of your immune system, which helps you fight off illness. Water helps keep your temperature normal. You need water to digest your food and get rid of waste. Water is needed for digestive juices, urine (pee), and poop. And you can bet that water is the main ingredient in perspiration, also called sweat.
Besides being an important part of the fluids in your body, water is needed by each cell to work.
Your body doesn’t get water only from drinking water. Any fluid you drink will contain water, but water and milk are the best choices. Lots of foods contain water too. Fruit contains quite a bit of water, which you could probably tell if you’ve ever bitten into a peach or plum and felt the juices dripping down your chin. Vegetables also contain a lot of water — think of slicing into a fat tomato or crunching into a crisp stalk of celery.
How Much Is Enough?
Because water is so important, you might wonder if you’re drinking enough. There is no magic amount of water that kids need to drink every day. The amount kids need depends on their age, body size, health, and activity level, plus the weather (temperature and humidity levels).
Usually, kids drink something with meals and should definitely drink when they’re thirsty. But if you’re sick, or it’s warm out or you’re exercising, you’ll need more. Be sure to drink some extra water when you’re out in warm weather, especially while playing sports or exercising.
When you drink is also important. If you’re going to sports practice, a game, or just working out or playing hard, drink water before, during, and after playing. Don’t forget your water bottle. You can’t play your best when you’re thinking about how thirsty you are!
When your body doesn’t have enough water, that’s called being dehydrated. Dehydration also can keep you from being as fast and as sharp as you’d like to be. A bad case of dehydration can make you sick. So keep that water bottle handy when the weather warms up! Not only does water fight dehydration, but it’s refreshing and has no calories.
Your body regulates the amount of water in your system. The body holds on to water when you don’t have enough or gets rid of it if you have too much. If your pee is very light yellow, you are well hydrated. When your pee is very dark yellow, it’s probably time to drink up.
You can help your body by drinking when you’re thirsty and drinking extra water when you exercise and when it’s warm out. Your body will be able to do all of its wonderful, waterful jobs and you’ll feel great!
Millions of Americans are exposed to unsafe drinking water every year. And globally? 844 million people are without the most basic clean water services.
This is a huge issue for any number of reasons, but most importantly is human health.
The majority of any human body, infant, adult male or female, is made up of water. So when your doctor tells you to hydrate more, you better believe it’s good advice! Ok, so you’ve committed to drinking more water. But is your water really safe straight from the tap?
Instead of worrying, it’s a good idea to get a water filter installed. There are so many benefits to this, not just for your health. But how do you choose the right one?
Keep reading for 8 tips on styles to help you figure out which water filter is best for you and your family.
1. Water Filter: Go Big or Go Frugal?
These days, there are many styles of water filters to choose from. That can cause some confusion for you, but only if you don’t know what you need and want from a water filter. You might need to do a little research, first.
For example, what state do you live in? Some states have public water issues that might really impact your family’s health. That would mean you’d need a bigger, more complicated water filter for your entire home. Or, you could live in a state with higher quality water, and you’d only need a small, simple filter unit.
In addition, you need to decide how much water you and your family uses per day, and if you want to deal with a higher maintenance option that requires electricity. If it’s just you in your home, you could get away with a nonelectrical option that doesn’t need to filter too much.
Some filters are more affordable than others, too. If you’re really invested in you and your family’s health, then it would make sense to purchase something with a warranty that will do a lot of work over a long period of time.
But if you’re budgeted and aren’t sure if you’re ready for that kind of investment, something small might do the trick.
Regardless of what you do end up choosing, it will be well worth the investment. Filtering your water is always beneficial.
2. Carbon Filter
If your water is obviously funky- tastes bad, looks murky, or smells weird, you could get an activated carbon (charcoal) filter. It’s great for removing chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, which is vital for your health. It’ll also remove radon and THM’s (trihalomethanes) along with some other inorganic chemicals.
A real issue to consider is that some, but not all, carbon filter will remove lead. Some of the varieties that will trap lead are solid-block and pre-coat absorption filters. You’ll have to check the certification of the unit you’re looking at buying, and really check for proof that it actually does remove lead.
These filters also won’t remove salts, nitrates, and nitrites, nor will they remove all metals. Don’t rely on a carbon filter to remove all organisms, either.
The thing to remember with these filters is they will accumulate the contaminants they remove, so bacteria and other critters might breed on it. You’ve got to replace filters according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Don’t think that a carbon filter that has pesticide silver is actually effective. The EPA hasn’t endorsed those, and studies have shown they’re not totally effective at killing bacteria or other microcontaminants.
Be aware that the range of carbon filters will vary in price. The countertop or faucet-mounted options that sell for super cheap aren’t always the most effective, while the whole-house units will eliminate anything worrisome. So you’re looking at a wide range of prices from $30 to thousands.
3. Reverse Osmosis
Are you living in a state where removing inorganic chemicals like salts and lead, asbestos or any other toxic chemical has shown up in public water supply? You might be in the market for a reverse-osmosis (RO) water filter.
Most models will also contain carbon filters, both pre and post, which will do a good job of catching sediment, pesticides, and the other dangerous chemicals like radon. They’ll also remove lead but won’t always remove chlorine. The taste of the water will be good, though. The post-filter handles that.
RO filters will connect directly to your plumbing, so locating them under the sink and to your faucet supply is ideal. Small tanks will store filtered water until it’s needed, and contaminated water drains out through the line to the sink trap.
The water you actually drink comes out of a separate, sink-top spout. They aren’t too expensive, ranging from $200 to $400 and there are models that cut down on the amount of water wasted.
4. UV Water Filters
These are great filters for when you want to be ‘high-tech’ and eco-friendly.
However, they won’t be effective against chemical pollutants. They also won’t kill spores, although they can kill most bacteria, viruses, and help your water taste and look better. Combining them with carbon filters is ideal, and these units will cost from $300 to $700.
5. Water Distillers
These water filters are the most convenient. They’re simply portable, sink-top devices that do a good job of eliminating salts, asbestos, organic chemicals, lead, and metals.
They’re inexpensive, but you might find your water tastes a bit weird. Distillers heat the water until it becomes steam, then condenses the steam back into water. That gets deposited in a separate chamber (a fun science experiment for kids) which keeps the junk from following along.
However, unless you get a carbon filter to go along with it, a distiller can’t remove all bacteria and chemicals. You’ll have to fill this manually, and they use a lot of electricity to operate.
They’ll take several hours to complete their process, too. A gallon of water can take some time to be produced. The price range is affordable, though, ranging from $80 to $400.
6. Water Filtering Faucets
You can look for a full, under-sink unit, which is ideal. But there are filters that attach to the end of your faucet spout. Again, like other devices that are more portable, and changeable, it won’t always do a great job of eliminating all of the offending chemicals and bacteria.
Most will come with a carbon filter installed, and those will need to be changed regularly. If you’re just using it for drinking water, it’ll probably okay for just you. If you’re providing filtered water for your family and pets, though, you’d want to invest in the full under-sink options.
Remember not to fall for unverified claims or too-good-to-be-true options. If something isn’t endorsed by the EPA, or doesn’t have certificates you can check, then don’t invest.
7. Gravity Filter
If you want to go old-school and survivalist, and don’t want to rely on needing maintenance or electricity, go for a gravity filter. These can hold a lot of water although you need to fill them manually.
They sit on your countertop and are made of stainless steel, and they’ll use a carbon filter. These are great for removing lead, so along with the carbon filter, they’ll do a good job of keeping your water safe.
The cost ranges from $100 to $300.
8. Whole Household Filter
This is the boss of water filters, and although a hefty investment, it’s the best way to ensure your water is fully safe.
You install this where your main water line enters your house, and every tap and appliance will be supplied with this filtered water. That includes your hot water heater.
The styles are similar to everything discussed in this guide thus far: carbon, reverse osmosis, UV…the advanced technology for next-generation water filters can be included in your whole house filter.
Your least expensive option will likely be the carbon-based system, going for around $800 and can last 300k gallons before needing replacement.
RO house filters are more expensive, coming in at over $4,000 and needing a large water storage tank. These are also high maintenance but won’t require separate drinking water filters at your taps.
Whole-house filters are great for large families, with lots of kids and pets. Your water needs will be taken care of, for a long period of time. However, be prepared to do some serious research on which style to go with.
Water Filters: Keeping It Clean
You’re going to want to filter your water because it’s a worthwhile investment in your health.
This guide gives you some ideas as to which water filters are available, and what would be most practical and cost-effective for your needs. But if you need more information on what to choose and how to install it, let us know!
