Like us at AquaClic, more and more people are convinced that it's both important and necessary to conserve water.
But one hears voices against water conservation in the media, the business sector and among politicians. Here are a few examples, along with our reasons why water conservation is important:
We have exactly the same amount of water as the dinosaurs had.
Water is renewable, nothing is lost, so why conserve it?
Correct, and we all drink the same water that the dinosaurs drank. But the quality doesn't get any better even though we constantly purify and treat it.
Just think about all the pesticides, hormones and other medications – filtering them out requires a lot of effort and considerable energy.
Cloaca Maxima, Rome, 600 b.c. – and still in function.
Saving water is nonsense, since oftentimes the capacity of pipes, drinking water and wastewater systems is not completely used (anymore). In the end, underutilization and large-scale maintenance work increases the price of water.
Many everyday devices have been developed since the ancient Romans: printed books, phones, cars, airplanes, computers, etc.
But no development has been seen in the disposal of human waste. We still use a waterborne sewage system which is based on waste being transported by a large volume of water.
Should we waste the valuable (and not truly renewable) resource of water due to an outdated or incorrectly designed infrastructure?
Wastewater treatment plant
The more diluted wastewater is, the easier it is to purify.
Wrong! It's like the needle in the haystack – the smaller the haystack, the easier it is to find it: the more concentrated wastewater is, the easier it is to purify.
We have to pay monthly fees anyway, so why should we conserve water?
In the worst case, you'll benefit by saving energy. Plus: does this mean you have an excuse to waste resources?
A 5-minute shower uses up 3dl of heating oil!
Producing a little hot water can't possibly require so much energy.
In homes: a 5-minute shower alone uses up 3 deciliters (!) of heating oil! Or 2.5 liters of heating oil per month – just to wash your hands...
Or for Switzerland as a whole: just piping in water to residential housing consumes as much as energy each year as is used by all 200,000 residents of the city of Geneva.
I'm a renter, and I don't save any money if I conserve water. Especially when my neighbor's taking showers all the time... because I'm charged a flat fee regardless of how much I use.
Encourage your neighbors to conserve water too! Together, you'll lower overall water usage in less than a year. And AquaClic also offers volume discounts...
We get our water directly from the source for free. So we don't save anything if we use less water.
Super! But you probably still get wastewater fees. And have energy bills.
We heat our water with solar energy!
Even better! Because you'll save on wastewater fees if you reduce your water consumption!
«Conserving waters results in hygienic and technical problems, too little water flows through the pipes. Don't use AquaClips!». This type of warning can be heard from a well-known sanitation services group or the waterworks of a large Swiss city, etc.
If this were true, vacation residences would long ago have ceased to exist – not only is water flow often minimal for these residences, many times there's no flow of water at all...
Furthermore: our parents bathed once a week, but we consume significantly more today – just by means of our daily shower itself. And the population has multiplied since then, and correspondingly more water flows through the pipes.
Apart from economic reasons, these institutions do not see any reasons for technical or hygiene concerns. They strongly support the conservation of water.
Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Office of Energy advises a reduction in water consumption, which also lowers energy consumption: «After all, hot water accounts for one-third of households' heating use on average.»
The Canton of Basel Stadt wants to help conserve water
Water is a valuable resource, one that we all need in daily life. Which is why the Environmental Division is advising everyone to conserve water, and is offering some valuable tips: Conserving water at home...
The Canton of Geneva Favors the Use of Flow Controllers on Faucets
Hot water requires energy. Consequently, it makes sense to reduce hot water usage where it can be done without sacrificing comfort. Aquaclics and low-flow shower heads...
The Conference of Cantonal energy offices, Switzerland,
Neoperl, the world's leading manufacturer of aerators for faucets, has the following opinion: use as much water as necessary, but as little as possible.
