Water, has different tastes depending on the locality or place. It may depend on various factors such as, microbes, pathogens, salts etc. But what causes the flavour of water, is not know yet. Nitrates, infectious agents, bacteria, virus, do not have flavour to them, but can cause severe diseases when consumed. One of the most dangerous elements is lead, which may give sweetness to water too !!!
Water can be simple to look, but tracing the
flavour is difficult. The odour of water may be presumed as taste of water in
most cases. Undesirable tastes, such as earthy, sulphuric, chlorine, metallic,
etc, originates from algae, bacteria, minerals, decaying matters.
The earthy taste may generally be
caused from algal blooms, even when the blooms are treated, still the taste may
be present in water. Another reason may be the presence of bacteria in it.
The chlorine taste is most common
in water as it is a disinfectant. It is used as it is less expensive and safe
to consume in smaller levels. The copper taste is generally from plumbing, and
it is toxic to aquatic fishes. In humans it leads to stomach cramps and
intestinal discomforts. Metallic taste is generally due to metals like zinc,
iron etc, which causes health issues. Sodium and chlorine compounds, gives salty
taste to water, which is harmful for people having salt related problems. Sulphur
and rotten egg smell occurs when there is presence of organic matter in water
which is dangerous.
There are so many ways in which we use water. The most prominent among them are:
Irrigation: 70 % of consumable water is used alone in
irrigation especially flood irrigation.
Lawns:
Most of the lawns are made up of imported greens which are not suitable to that
environment; as a result it consumes more water.
Poor crop
choice: Cotton and such equivalent plants are generally considered as bad
choice of crops, where most of the water is consumed.
Above all
of these, water is generally used during brushing teeth, washing vegetables and
flushing toilets.
Water
Is Life
Reading all the above we can conclude that water is important for the survival. Not only for drinking, water is also required as basic needs for every living organism.
Even
though earth is filled with 75% of water, consumable water sources are just 2% and decreasing. There are many water sources which were available to us but due
to pollution and increasing population, the water sources are depleting day by
day.
Pollution
of ponds, lakes, rivers has led to the increase of bore water. This has
automatically brought down the percentage of underground water. Usage of cement
pavements has led to the lowering of the underground water levels.
Now the
most pressing concern about our water is, no serious efforts are being taken
against this water crisis. Our only solution is how
well we manage, conserve and distribute water. It is in our hands to conserve
our renewable resource so that it exists for generations. Rather than waiting
for rules or any organisation, we can educate and start to bring about changes
in conserving water and how to renew it.
Planting trees, using proper
agricultural methods and most important trying to avoid wastage of water in
domestic activities may bring about drastic changes in our environment. Though
this change may be slow, it is definitely permanent.