Water Uses!
Water is one of the most vital natural resources for all life on Earth. The availability and quality of water always have played an important part in determining not only where people can live, but also their quality of life. Water is used in different aspects of life to achieve different purposes for humanity. In one way or another, water is a part of almost everything humans make and do. In fact, we ourselves are more than half water.
Water usage can be consumptive (where water is consumed - drinking, irrigation for plant growth and evaporation) or non-consumptive (where water is not used up - bathing, hydropower generation and recreation).
Uses of water:
- DOMESTIC USE:
- Domestic use includes water that is used in the home every day, including water for normal household purposes, such as drinking, food preparation, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, flushing toilets, and watering lawns and gardens.
- IRRIGATION:
- Irrigation water use is water artificially applied to farm, orchard,
pasture, and horticultural crops, as well as water used to irrigate
pastures etc. The most important use of water in agriculture is for
an irrigation and irrigation is key component to produce enough food.
Nonagricultural activities include water to irrigate public and private golf courses, parks, nurseries, turf farms, cemeteries, and other landscape irrigation uses. In fact, irrigation is the largest category of water use worldwide.
- Irrigation water use is water artificially applied to farm, orchard,
pasture, and horticultural crops, as well as water used to irrigate
pastures etc. The most important use of water in agriculture is for
an irrigation and irrigation is key component to produce enough food.
- COMMERCIAL:
- Commercial water use includes fresh water for motels, hotels, restaurants, office buildings, other commercial facilities, and civilian and military institutions.
- FOOD PROCESSING:
- Water plays many critical roles within the field of food science. It is extensevely used within food processing industry and helps to ensure the success of their products. Areas of specific usage include preservation(freezers, fridges etc.), boiling, steaming, and simmering cleaning and washing etc.
- IN INDUSTRIES:
- Industrial water use is a valuable resource to industries for such purposes as processing, cleaning, transportation, dilution, and cooling in manufacturing facilities. Major water-using industries include steel, chemical, paper, and petroleum refining. Industries often reuse the same water over and over for more than one purpose.
- LIVESTOCK:
- Livestock water use includes water for stock animals, feed lots, dairies, fish farms, and other nonfarm needs. Water is needed for the production of red meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and wool, and for horses, rabbits, and pets. Livestock water use only includes fresh water.
- MINING:
- Mining water use includes water for the extraction of naturally occurring minerals; solids, such as coal and ores; liquids, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas. The category includes quarrying, milling (such as crushing, screening, washing, and flotation), and other operations as part of mining activity.
- WATER INDUSTRY:
- The water industry provides drinking water and wastewater services (including sewage treatment) to households and industry. Water supply facilities includes for example water wells cisterns for rainwater harvesting, water supply network, water purification facilities, water tanks, water towers, and water pipes. The distribution of drinking water is done through municipal water systems or as bottled water.
- TRANSPORTATION AND RECREATION:
- Water is used for transportation by sea and inland water ways. Ocean
going vessels make possible economic bulk transportation of goods from
one point of the earth to the other.
We also use water for many recreational purposes, as well as for exercising and for sports. Some of these include swimming, waterskiing, boating, and diving. In addition, some sports, like ice hockey and ice skating, are played on ice. Lakesides, beaches and waterparks are popular places for people to go to relax and enjoy recreation. Some may also make fountains and use water in their public or private decorations.
- Water is used for transportation by sea and inland water ways. Ocean
going vessels make possible economic bulk transportation of goods from
one point of the earth to the other.
- HYDROELECTRICITY:
- Water is used in power generation. Hydroelectric power comes from steam driving a turbine connected to a generator. After the steam is used to turn the turbines, it is condensed back to water by cooling it. The condensed water is then routed back to the boiler, where the cycle begins again. Hydroelectricity is a low-cost, non-polluting, renewable energy source.
- EXTINGUISHING FIRES:
- Water has a high heat of vaporization and is relatively inert, which makes it a good fire extinguishing fluid. The evaporation of water carries heat away from the fire. However, water cannot be used to fight fires of electric equipment, because impure water is electrically conductive, or of oils and organic solvents, because they float on water and the explosive boiling of water tends to spread the burning liquid.
- RELIGIOUS:
- Water serves many purposes in religion. It is considered a purifier in most religions and used for ritual washing (ablution), immersion (also called baptism), ritual bath and washing before prayers (islam). Some religions prepare water as holy (Holy Water), while others consider particular sources or bodies of water to be sacred e.g., the River Jordan and the River Ganges.
