March 22 is World Water Day, started by the United Nations in 1993, and this year’s theme is wastewater—as in, the futility of wasting it. Though there are many words for water, there’s no escaping the fact that we all contain it.
“Globally, the vast majority of all the wastewater from our homes, cities, industry and agriculture flows back to nature without being treated or reused—polluting the environment, and losing valuable nutrients and other recoverable materials,” the U.N. says on the World Water Day website. “Instead of wasting wastewater, we need to reduce and reuse it. In our homes, we can reuse greywater on our gardens and plots. In our cities, we can treat and reuse wastewater for green spaces. In industry and agriculture, we can treat and recycle discharge for things like cooling systems and irrigation.”
By recognizing wastewater as the valuable resource that it is, “we will make the water cycle work better for every living thing,” the U.N. says. “And we will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 6 target to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase water recycling and safe reuse.”
How can this be accomplished? There’s a fact sheet and other resources for that, downloadable from the World Water Day website.
“The opportunities from exploiting wastewater as a resource are enormous. Safely managed wastewater is an affordable and sustainable source of water, energy, nutrients and other recoverable materials,” the U.N. says. “The costs of wastewater management are greatly outweighed by the benefits to human health, economic development and environmental sustainability—providing new business opportunities and creating more ‘green’ jobs.”
On this World Water Day, an organization called Bless the Water is inviting everyone to participate in a “synchronized meditation” worldwide. An interactive map on the website shows where events are taking place.
At 5 p.m. Pacific Time, the site will host a Water Blessing and show a documentary, Water Is Life: You Are What You Drink. See the trailer.
