Water Conservation Methods – 10 Traditional and Modern Methods

Over the years, many different water conservation methods have been developed. These methods came as an answer to the question, ‘how to save water’.

The concept of ‘water conservation’ appears to be a recent development but in fact, goes back thousands of years if not traceable to the first man.

Why do we save water?

Before you ask how to save water, you must definitely have a reason for saving it. Some modern water conservation methods may seem to be improved versions of the traditional ones, but they are actually based on completely different ideas.

The Traditional reason for saving water

In the past obtaining water was not as convenient as now, they had to go out and get the water themselves from a stream, river, etc. Therefore, they had to consider things like the distance from their source of water, where to store water and even sanitation. This led to them coming up with methods to store and save more water.

The Modern reason for saving water

This is simply because of an increase in population and the feeling that water is unlimited. Now, water is always filtered and available at home. This gives people the feeling that water is unlimited, thereby making them use much more than they need. But of course, the most important reason for an individual to conserve water is to save money.

Water conservation methods at home and around the world

Water conservation methods at home are basic and very simple to perform. They are, however, different from water conservation methods around the world, which refers to the different methods used by a community or country as a whole in order to improve the economy.

There are both traditional and modern water conservation methods, some of the traditional methods are currently still in use. Modern methods are easier and more effective, such as water conservation methods at home and on the farm.

We have listed both modern and traditional methods of conserving water and placed them under the situation where they are used.

Modern Techniques

At Home

• Use the Toilet properly: Flushing is the activity that uses the most water in a day. It has been discovered that people frequently use the toilet to flush away things like cigarettes and trash. These waste gallons of water.
• Take shorter showers: An easy way to save water is to turn off the shower after soaping up, then turn it back after to rinse. A quick five-minute shower can use as much as 50 gallons of water. You can also install simple water timers.
• Check your toilet for leaks: To test for leaks, add a little food coloring to your toilet tank and wait for thirty minutes. A leak is indicated by a color. You can also use a water meter.
• Cover swimming pools to reduce evaporation: Thousands of gallons of water are lost each season to evaporation of the surface layer of the pool. Get a cover for the pool to prevent this.
• Use your washing machine for full loads only: Each time you use a washing machine, you use a lot of water. Therefore try to wash your clothes at once instead of small parts when needed.
• Don’t run the hose while washing your car: Clean the car with a pail of soapy water and only use the hose when rinsing.

On The Farm And Garden

• Cover crops: Cover crops increase soil fertility and organic matter. They also reduce erosion and compaction of the soil. This improves the water-holding capacity of the soil and allows water to penetrate the soil more easily.
• Capturing and storing water: Some farms have built their own ponds. This enables them to catch and store rainfall for use on the farm.
• Position sprinklers carefully: Position your sprinklers in such a way that water only pours on the garden and not paved areas.
• Properly schedule irrigation: To avoid underwatering or overwatering crops, you should check the weather forecast so as to be able to adapt your irrigation with it.

Traditional Techniques

• Bamboo drip irrigation system: in this method bamboo is used to transport water from a source (usually from springs on top of a hill) to the fields. It uses bamboo pipes of varying diameter to control the flow by changing pipe positions.
• Johads: A johad is a small mud barrier dug into the ground for storing rainwater and runoff water from a slope. The stored water slowly percolates into the surrounding soil over time. This increases the moisture of the soil and saves water.
• Stepwell: They are well in which water is stored deep into the ground. The water is reached by descending a set of steps. It is called bawdi in India.
• Sand bores: in this water conservation method water is extracted from sand particles. The sand acts as a good water filter by retaining salt content and releasing water.
• Virdas: They are shallow wells dug at a low elevation that store water that seeps down the soil.
• Zing: They are tanks that are used to collect and store water obtained from melting glaciers. This stored water can be used in other seasons.
• Taanka: It is a cylindrical underground pit that is used to store rainwater.
• Kaata: They are built across streams and store a large amount of water. The collected water sinks into the ground and raises the water level of nearby ponds.
• Kuls: Kuls are artificial ridges that are used to transport water from a glacier. It is tapped, to a circular water tank.
• Ahar pynes: The ahar is a basin embanked on three sides, they are filled with water by pynes which transport the water from a river. It is mainly used for agricultural processes.

Final Words

Water conservation methods have experienced a great transformation over time. If you look at the points above carefully, you will notice that traditional water conservation methods are focused on storing more water. On the other hand, modern methods are focused on using as little as possible.

So, hope this article was useful for you and now how to conserve water effectively.