Q1.
What are some easy things we can do in our school to prevent the wastage of water?
Answer
Most water in a school is not wasted by anyone on purpose. It is lost drop by drop, from taps nobody closed and leaks nobody reported. So the easy actions are the ones that fix exactly that.
| What to do | How | Roughly how much it saves |
|---|---|---|
| Repair every leaking tap | Water Watchers make a list with exact locations and give it to the office; check again after two weeks | Up to 48 litres a day per tap |
| Close the tap while soaping hands | Wet hands, close the tap, soap, then open it to rinse | About half the water at every wash |
| Use a mug, not a running tap | Keep a mug at the washing point | A lot — a running tap gives far more than you need |
| Fit a water-level indicator or a float on the overhead tank | So the pump is switched off before the tank overflows | Hundreds of litres each time it would have overflowed |
| Put up small signs at every tap | “Close me tight”, with a picture | Reminders work; most children simply forget |
| Make a Water Monitor in every class | One child checks the class's taps at the end of the day | Nothing is left running overnight |
| Water plants in the early morning or evening | Not in the hot afternoon Sun | Much less is lost to evaporation |
| Use the water left in bottles | Pour it into the plant pots at the end of the day instead of into the drain | Several litres every day in a big school |
| Sweep the courtyard, do not hose it | A broom cleans as well as running water | Very large amounts |
Why 'report it' is the most powerful action of all: A child cannot repair a tap. But a child can be the one person who notices it and writes it down. Almost every leaking tap in every school has been walked past by hundreds of people. It gets fixed on the day one person reports it clearly, in writing, with the place named.