Water Savers

Water Savers

Every Drop Counts!

Introduction

According to the World Water Council, the average North American household uses over 300 litres of water a day. It’s easy to believe that water is an endless resource, especially if you live in coastal British Columbia, but that’s not the case.

This lesson investigates the water cycle, the process water takes to get to our homes and the importance of reducing water use to conserve it.

Objectives

• describe the water cycle in simple terms.
• describe methods of water conservation at home.
• describe the process of water filtration before it gets to homes and taps.
• describe what a rain gauge is and how it works.

Background

All living things need water to survive. Humans need between two and five litres of water every day to replace the water that we breathe, sweat or pee out. Although we can survive for about a month without food, we can only survive for five or six days without water. Our bodies are made of about 70 per cent water. We get a lot of water out of the food we eat, but most of it comes from the liquids we drink.

Not only do we drink water, we use it for agriculture, transportation, energy production, sanitation, manufacturing and recreation.

We use much more water than we need. Water use statistics from Metro Vancouver show that the average resident uses about 325 litres of water each day—much of it is wasted.

In British Columbia, we’re fortunate to have access to plenty of clean water, but the water supply isn’t limitless.

The water cycle, in which water evaporates from rivers, lakes and oceans into clouds and falls again as rain, provides Vancouver with an average of 1.12 meters of rain a year. This is abundant compared to dry African countries, or even compared to other parts of the province. However, the rain falls mostly in the winter. Although we collect water all winter in giant reservoirs, we can barely store enough to last through hot, dry summers.

Ideas for saving water:

• Turn the tap on only to rinse your hands—don’t let the water run.
• Run through the sprinkler only on your house’s watering day.
• Sweep instead of washing the sidewalk.
• Have a shower instead of a bath. 
• Put a weight in the toilet tank.
• Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth instead of letting water run.
• Keep a water jug in the fridge instead of running the cold tap.
• Use a bucket of water instead of the hose when washing your car.
• Wash dishes in the sink, but only let the water run for rinsing. 
• Set the washing machine to the short cycle.
• Change the washer on a drippy tap.
• Collect rainwater for watering your garden.

Entire Lesson

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Other Resources

Science World Resources | Full Lesson | Wonderful Water
Science World at TELUS World of Science | School Workshop | EnviroChallenge
Science World at TELUS World of Science | Our World: BMO Sustainability Gallery 
Science World | BC Green Games | Waterwise Lesson Plan
Engaging Science | Online Games | Just Drifting Around
Project Wet | Worldwide Water Education 
Metro Vancouver | Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve Watershed | School programs
Vancouver Aquarium

Looking for a wrap-up activity? Check out SuperGreen Trivia