We observe World Water Day every year on March 22, to highlight the importance of water. But how much attention do we give to the amount of water we use everyday? According to a 2008 World Bank report, an average Indian household performs approximately 340 wash cycles in a year and this accounts for approximately 40.7 kilowatt hour of electricity, 47.5 kilolitre of water and 27 kilogram (kg) of detergent per household per year. We have to wash our clothes and use water and energy in our day-to-day lives, but here’s a way we can save the environment as well as a lot of money on laundry!

Carrying water by trains could be an emergency measure. Chennai has a strong tradition of water harvesting. But the problem is that most of these structures are either defunct or poorly maintained. Chennai which had 19 major lakes covering an area of 1130 hectares. But these waterbodies have been heavily encroached upon reducing their spread to just about 645 hectares. Its time that we understand the importance of water harvesting.

How the life around the Yamuna River changed with time and people Tributaries of the Yamuna flowed through the city and several rulers tapped the streams and fed the water through massive sluices into tanks, to provide water for their people. Today, these tributaries have dried up and become cemented tunnels underneath the city that carry sewage to the Yamuna.