How Can I Prevent Water Pollution?

It is a well understood and recognized fact that humans need water to survive; everyone understands that clean water is crucially important to our health and our normal day-to-day lives. Approximately 70% of the earth’s surface is water, and all forms of life on our planet need water to survive and thrive. And yet, we are currently facing an ecological crisis with water pollution, largely due to human activities that introduce pollutants into bodies of water.

When these pollutants and other forms of waste make their way into our lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans, the water becomes polluted, causing irreparable damage to ecosystems, decimating aquatic life, and degrading the quality of our water. There are many things we do as humans that contribute to water pollution, and while there is no single easy fix to stop water pollution, there are a number of things we can do to reduce it. Our staff at Office H2O is passionate about reducing water pollution, so we assembled this post of simple and easy ways you can protect water by changing some of your habits!

Use Water Sparingly

An important aspect of preventing water pollution is not using more water than you need to. You can do your part to conserve water by turning off running water when you don’t need it, for instance while brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Every drop of water you help conserve is a way to help the environment, as it reduces the amount of contaminated water that needs to be treated and prevents water shortages. You can also consider installing a water-efficient toilet!

Use Phosphate-Free Dish Detergent

Many dish-cleaning products are saturated with phosphates, a harmful chemical that leads to algae blooms and depleted oxygen levels. Both of these things lead to water pollution and the death of fish and other aquatic life. You can do your part to prevent water pollution by switching to a phosphate-free dish detergent.

Properly Dispose of Toxic Chemicals

Many homes use a variety of toxic chemicals that can pose a threat to our environment and water, such as pesticides, paint and paint thinner, or bleach. If these chemicals are dumped down the drain or toilet by households around the world, the negative effects on our water add up very quickly. It is important to dispose of these chemicals properly so they do not harm the environment.

Many of these chemicals can be recycled; in fact, your town may have a recycling center where you can dispose of them. Your community may also have a hazardous waste collection day for the safe disposal of toxic chemicals.

Avoid Plastic

Most of the plastic products we throw away eventually end up in bodies of water where it is difficult to retrieve and dispose of properly. Plastic rings from six-packs of soda or beer and plastic shopping bags cause disproportionate issues when they make their way into our lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans. It is very difficult to break down plastic once it has been produced for use — plastic can stay intact for decades in the water, meaning the problems it creates for our environment continue for just as long. Plastic can also spread decay through bodies of water. Avoid using plastic products as often as possible; you can buy reusable cloth grocery bags for as little as $1. Switching to insulated, reusable containers for your drinks will also help to prevent water pollution.

Reduce Meat Consumption

While we all enjoy barbeque chicken and hamburgers, if you’re concerned about water pollution, it is important to consider how factory farms affect our bodies of water. It requires a lot of water to raise animals for consumption: water is required for the grains and other foods they eat, as well as keeping the animals clean and hydrated. On top of that, the antibiotics used to treat these animals along with the solid waste they produce tend to get washed into lakes, rivers, and streams. Whenever possible, buy sustainable meats instead of factory-farm produced meat. However, the best thing you can do for water pollution is to reduce your meat consumption as much as possible.

Office H2O

Here at Office H2O, we are passionate about reducing water pollution not just for the health of our environment, but also for the safety of our drinking water. Twenty-nine percent of the Earth’s population does not have access to clean water. We can all do our part in lowering that percentage by following the simple steps outlined here to prevent water pollution.

For those who are concerned about the quality of their drinking water, Office H2O is proud to offer bottleless water systems equipped with the latest water purification technology. We also know how important it is to stay as sanitary as possible in the times of the coronavirus and, for this reason, we are happy to tell you that our bottleless water systems feature (in addition to self-sanitizing tanks and multi-stage filtration) a touch-free foot pedal. Using the stylish foot pedal included in our bottleless water coolers, your home or office can continue to enjoy easy access to purified drinking water without having to use your hands.

Visit our website today to browse our selection and select your bottleless water cooler!

Photo by Yogendra Singh from Pexels