Water and Water Tanks around the World

Water is important to one’s health and hygiene, and so people strive to store enough water at home and industries. The use of water tanks and water towers is common in all civilizations and generations. Several archeological finds have proven this to be so.

Today, you might have heard it several times in your lifetime, “Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day to stay healthy.” Surprisingly however, there are no scientific bases for this. In 2002 and 2008, medical reviews made on related literatures did not reveal any direct source that would support this healthy advice.

The misconception does not lie on whether water intake is important or not, but on how much water should be consumed in a day. The British Dietetic Association places it at 1.8 liters a day, while American RDI (Reference Daily Intake) says 3.7 liters per day for males above 18 years old and 2.7 liters a day for females over 18. These include the water unknowingly consumed when eating food and drinking beverages.

A glass of water is filled with several minerals in little amounts. These include calcium, zinc, phosphate, sodium, potassium and chloride, as well as fluoride. There may be low concentrations of these elements but they are very beneficial to people and animals.

Water may be taken lightly in America and other developed countries, but sadly many other countries are not as blessed. Only 46% of Africa’s total population have access to safe drinking water. Around the world, only 27% of rural areas get safe drinking water in their homes.

Surveys and research estimate that about 884 million people do not have access to good water sources, and about 746 million of these reside in rural areas.  In such places, water is a very important commodity. Some are forced to drink dirt water, which is better than no water at all.

Although the planet is 70% water, most of this is saltwater, and therefore, unsafe for drinking. There is safe freshwater in almost all parts of the country but supplies and sources must be sustained. Sources of freshwater include underground aquifers, rain, surface water, plants, and by desalinating seawater; underground water surfaces in springs, which are natural resources for mineral-rich clean water.

In developed countries, water is delivered to homes and industries through comprehensive and complex city and national water piping systems. However, due to wear and tear, most city piping and plumbing that have been put in place at the turn of the century have now deteriorated. Underground pipes are leaking, and thus contamination is a serious threat even in the most developed cities in the world.

In desert countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and neighboring nations, water is scarce, and so it is typical to see homes with a cistern, water tower or water tank. People living in these countries make good use of the little water that Nature makes available to them. These nations have also perfected dry-land farming, a kind of agriculture that makes use of moisture and rainwater to water their crops.

In such countries, agricultural failures may happen more frequently than elsewhere, but the system works more often than not. This only illustrates the urgency that people in developed countries should conserve this dwindling resource. Water tanks, containers, and cisterns must be installed in homes and industries more than ever.