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Is water renewable? Let’s figure out how water fits in as a renewable resource.
Water is a precious resource. All living organisms need water to survive. Any living thing that depends on oxygen requires water to aid in the respiration process. Water not only acts as a living environment for some organisms but also a solvent, a metabolite, and a temperature buffer.
Research shows that 71% of the entire earth is covered with water. But, a prevalent question remains,” is water renewable?
To be able to answer that question, it’s critical first to define what a renewable resource means. A renewable resource is considered to be a natural resource that cannot end up in depletion since it can be replenished after usage or consumption.
The replenishing process can occur biologically or naturally and in a finite amount of time. Non-renewable resources, on the other hand, can be depleted and cannot be replenished.
Water is a natural resource which is not only found on the surface of the earth in rivers, oceans, lakes, and streams but also underground. Is water a renewable resource? Yes. Water is a renewable resource.
In this article, we will explain how water is a renewable resource, and give a few reasons or facts about water as a renewable resource.
First, we need to answer the mystery of why does water being a renewable resource get exhausted. The groundwater depletion may be due to various things including sustained groundwater pumping. It can result in the reduction of water in streams, wells, and lakes. Groundwater retention is vital to ensure that water is not pumped at a faster rate than it is recharged.
It brings us to the next important question, how is water is formed and where does water come from? The universe is largely endowed with this natural resource called water.
Water is a resource that has been there since way back to the origins of the universe. It falls from the sky in the form of rain and then rushes down on our riverbeds and also forms the beautiful water bodies like oceans and lakes. Water is an abundant resource that cannot (always) be replenished.
So, here are the seven reasons to answer the question, ”is water renewable:
Renewable resources are resources that are considered not in danger of being used up and thus water is one of them. One significant reason why water is considered renewable resources is that when it rains, the water bodies get replenished.
Rain is usually in liquid form or droplets which are formed as a result of condensation in the atmospheric water vapors.
Then, the droplets grow heavy and fall under gravity as rain. It helps deposit most of the fresh water on the earth. Rain production is as a result of moisture movements in the three-dimensional zones of temperatures or moisture contrasts which are usually called weather fronts.
Precipitation usually falls from the convective clouds including the cumulonimbus if sufficient moisture goes up in motion. Heavy rainfall mostly occurs in the mountainous areas where there is upslope flow happening within the terrain windward sides.
Water is thus one of the renewable resources that we can have as long as there is sufficient rainfall. But with global warming, climate patterns are continually changing. We should avoid things that are causing the depletion of the ozone layer which eventually leads to global warming and climate change.
Use efforts of decarbonization to reduce your carbon footprint.
Another method of renewing or replenishing the water resource is through conservation. Conservation efforts can help replenish the water reservoirs when a drought occurs. The water conserved can be utilized to replenish the reservoirs. 97% of all water on the earth is salt water, and only 3% is fresh water which is safe for drinking.
So, is freshwater a renewable resource? Putting in place conservation efforts ranging from the simple to complex systems can help supply fresh water to us especially during the dry seasons. Use these greywater systems in your home to free up drinking water since you won’t use potable water for other purposes.
Some of the conservation efforts that can help you free up more drinking water since you’ll be using other water for routine tasks:
Below is an example of an outstanding gray water system for your home.
