Running head: SAVING WATER

Saving Water
Omar Galache
University of Texas at El Paso

Running head: SAVING WATER

Abstract
Water is the most crucial part of life it self and its important that it never goes unnoticed.
This study will discuss the importance of saving water and will provide information on the
natural resources defense council who is the nations most effective environmental action group.
Their main purpose is to work with businesses, elected leaders, and community groups to handle
the biggest environmental issues that humanity faces today. People regularly disregard waters
importance simply because theres an ample amount of it in our planet. The importance of using
less water is that it saves money and energy, water conservation is critical to protect our natural
eco-systems from further damage, especially for the survival of some endangered species. This
paper contributes to the debates on dam removal projects and how it causes harm to our river
ecosystems for the purpose of hydropower, irrigation, flood control, and water storage. The
information provided in my study is key to having a green planet and support a healthy ocean for
future generations.

Running head: SAVING WATER

Introduction
Water has always been the main resource for the planet that we live in today, its essential
for the human survival and well-being. The U.S. economy runs on water and in order to have a
productive and growing economy, the natural resource of water is important for the production of
goods and services in the United States. Agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, tourism, and energy
are what makes the U.S. economy. Having access to water is an important contribution to
agriculture to grow crops, its used to remove mineral resources from earth and improve
petroleum and chemicals. Water cools the generators and operates the turbines that manufactures
electricity to sustain the habitat and fish stocks that are key to the commercial fishing industry.
Rivers, lakes, and oceans are used as a natural highway for commercial navigation as well to
fish, raft, swim, and boat. Almost every region of the economy is influenced by water, according
to WWF Global,

There are more than 326 million trillion gallons of water on Earth. Less than 3 % of all
this water is fresh water and of that amount, more than two-thirds is locked up in ice caps and
glaciers. With so much water around it seems like there is enough to see us through for millions
of years. But did you know that even water, which seems to be in abundance, might one day
become scarce? (http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/webfieldtrips/water/ )

Pressures on water resources are increasing as a result of human activity and is

aggravated more by pollution, urban growth, landscape changes, and climate change. Its
important to increase the understanding of all elements of the water cycle and how human

Running head: SAVING WATER

activities affect it, so that the water resources can be protected and developed sustainably.
History of Dams in America
Dams in the United States have caused ecological cost such as degraded waterways to the
loss of wildlife habitat. Dams and hydropower represent a pivotal part of U.S. history but the
United States took it too far, today there are approximately 75,000 dams in America. The main
functions of dams are to store water to compensate for shifts in river flow and the demand for
water and energy. The creation of storage allows dams to produce hydropower that generates
electricity; to supply water for agriculture, industries and household; to control flooding and to
help river navigation; large dams are built for reservoir fisheries and for free time activities such
as boating. After the idea of dams, the National Fish Hatchery System was created, the Fish
Hatchery treats fish just like agricultural, they have millions of fish caged in and give them food
regularly for a period of time and then theyre sent into wild just like that and very few of them
come back. They put hatchery fish with wild salmon and they mate which becomes bad for
nature and every time the United States removes a dam, as a result it also creates a hatchery
system and everything goes back to being a disaster.
In 1902 the Reclamation Act was passed by congress to promote settlement of west to
support family farms, it later devolved into Bureau of Reclamation who was later accounted for
resource abuse and impounding absurd amount of water to support dessert. The U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers Golden Age was during the years of 1950-1970, where 30,000 private and federal
dams were completed. If it flowed, it was dammed! (DamNation, http://damnationfilm.com/ ).
In 1997, the 162-year old Edwards Dam on Maines Kennebel River became the first
major dam removal in U.S. history thanks to the American Rivers organization. They are an
environmental group that protects wild rivers, restores damaged rivers, and conserves clean

Running head: SAVING WATER

water for people and nature. The building dams in America have hurt the salmon life, for salmon
a dam is a lack of access. Their basic life history requires for the juvenile fish to go out to the
ocean and as they grow on to becoming adult fish, they are required to come back to their
spawning stream and because of the dams their journey ends sooner than it should. Wild fish are
the real deal and we should be glad that we still have them, the beauty of wild fish is that we
dont have to do anything but leave them alone. It is of great significance to take into
consideration the importance of dam removal projects to help save water and protect our river
ecosystems.
Importance of Saving Water Today
Water is considered to be a renewable resource because it can be used over and over
again as we can see in the water cycle. It is thought that there will be a serious lack of drinking
water and we can already see that today, although theres still the same amount of water on Earth
today as there was when earth was formed, only 3% of that water is usable and this decreases as
time passes and more water becomes polluted or contaminated. Population growth has become
the biggest reason why water may one day become a non-renewable source, as more and more
people need access to drinking water our groundwater and surface water reserves are being used
up and this can surely lead to a water shortage in the future. In conclusion, water conservation
should be our main concern and we should try to reduce our water consumption in whatever way
possible.
Environmental Groups Taking Action on Issue
The nations most effective environmental action group is the Natural Resources Defense
Council, they have more than 2 million members and online activist. They have about 500
lawyers, scientists, and other professionals. The NRDC staff works with businesses, elected

Running head: SAVING WATER

leaders, and community groups on the biggest issues we face today; their mission is to protect
Earth and its people, plants, animals and the natural systems on which all life depends on. The
NRDC has many environmental groups taking action on the issues of saving water, for example,
Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization that its only focus is on ocean
conservation; they reveal the threats that oceans face, the legal battles to protect them and the
actions you can take. The organizations staff works together to win strategic, directed campaigns
that reach significant outcomes that will help make our oceans as rich, healthy, and abundant as
they once were. Furthermore, the challenges that the oceans face are so vast that its easy to feel
powerless to protect them.
We have already destroyed marine ecosystems and forced million-year-old species to the
edge of extinction due to ocean acidification, oil rigs on the ocean, vessel waste, and ocean
dumping. We can prevent, control, and reduce these issues by supporting any NRDC
environmental group organization. Some simple ways to help is by reducing your plastic use as
well as your energy use, keep beaches and waterways clean by cleaning up after yourself, be a
responsible boater and dont throw garbage out into the ocean, dispose of chemicals properly,
educate yourself about oceans and marine life but most importantly be considerate of marine life.
Effects on Community
Having plenty of clean water is the foundation for a flourishing community. We depend
on clean water to survive and yet were still heading towards a water crisis in our nation. The
United States is fortunate to have clean water to drink, in many developing countries people are
forced to drink low quality water from flowing streams from which many are contaminated. This
causes waterborne diseases and many people die from it, water shortages have a great impact on
communities around the globe. Having less water also means sewage doesnt flow which attracts

Running head: SAVING WATER

insects and mosquitoes to the dirty water, the effect is that it can cause deadly malaria and other
diseases. As a further matter, having food is necessary to the community and it takes a lot of
water to grow crops and care for animals. Less water means less farming, farm animals will die
and others will not do well without water. If people dont do well then manufacturing jobs,
farming, mining jobs, schools, and businesses wont thrive. The result then becomes hunger and
thirst and a low quality of life, for many people water has never been a big story in their lives.
This is because they live in a community with a good water supply system, people just turn on
the faucet and clean water flows everyday of the year. As a result, it makes it very difficult for
people to appreciate how precious water is.
Benefits of Saving Water
Why save water? Saving water helps to preserve our environment, we cannot live without
water. We all enjoy the benefits of having pure and clean water, and we must take into
consideration that our water is indeed finite. As stated by Jan Lundqvist,

"We need to use our water prudently no one will argue with this statement. But in fact
we are wasteful. This need will become more pronounced, and the cost of bad water management
will get higher in the future with increasing water demands from increasing population, cities,
agriculture, and the environment. (Saving Water: From Field to Fork,
https://center.sustainability.duke.edu/sites/default/files/documents/from_field_to_fork_0.pdf )

this helps us understand the consequences on overusing water and how it can impact the
community, that is why we must save water today so that it will be available to us in the future.
Conclusion

Running head: SAVING WATER

In conclusion, there is no doubt that the impact of the global water crisis is currently
being carried by citizens of underdeveloped and developing countries. Not only is it critical that
we reduce water consumption, but we must also practice water conservation techniques. Using
water-saving techniques can save money and the environment we live on. Saving water now
means having water available in the future, conserving water minimizes the effects of water
shortages and helps build a better defense against future drought years.

Citations

Running head: SAVING WATER

Energy, Water, & Climate. (2015). Retrieved from https://practicegreenhealth.org/topics/energywater-climate .

Lundqvist, J., C. de Fraiture and D. Molden. (2008). Saving Water: From Field to Fork
Curbing Losses and Wastage in the Food Chain. SIWI Policy Brief. SIWI.

McCully, Patrick. (2001, January 1). Rivers No More: The Environmental Effects of Large
Dams. Retrieved from https://www.internationalrivers.org/rivers-no-more-the-environmentaleffects-of-large-dams .

Promoting Sustainable Fisheries and Healthy Ocean Ecosystems. (2011). Retrieved from
http://earthjustice.org/the-wild/oceans/fisheries .

Rummel, T. (Producer), Stoecker, M. (Producer), & Knight, B. (Director), Rummel, T.

(Director). (March 10, 2014). DamNation [Motion Picture]. United States: Stoecker
Ecological and FeltSoul Media Production.

Safina, C., & Chasis, S. (2004). Saving the Oceans. Issues in Science & Technology. 21(1), 3744.

Water. (2015, May). Retrieved from http://www.nrdc.org/water/default.asp .