We live on the Blue Planet, but water is scarcer than many people realize! Less than 3% of all water on Earth is fresh, and less than 0.3% of freshwater can actually be used. All of our lakes, streams, and rivers like the James are filled by only 0.01% of Earth’s total water supply, yet this tiny fraction is what most of the 7 billion of us rely on every day.
To-scale representations of water on Earth. All of Earth’s water could fit into a sphere 860 miles across. Earth’s freshwater forms a sphere 235 miles across. The water from all of Earth’s lakes and streams forms a sphere that is 35 miles across – about the size of the Richmond metropolitan area.
We live on the Blue Planet, but water is scarcer than many people realize! Less than 3% of all water on Earth is fresh, and less than 0.3% of freshwater can actually be used. All of our lakes, streams, and rivers like the James are filled by only 0.01% of Earth’s total water supply, yet this tiny fraction is what most of the 7 billion of us rely on every day.
In your yard:
- Become a River Hero Home and you can single-handedly save water, reduce runoff, prevent pollution, and improve the health of the James River and your own backyard!
- Use a rain barrel (or two!) to capture rainfall and provide you with a supply of water for outdoor purposes.
- Install a rain garden to catch runoff and keep it in-place where it can benefit your yard, rather than allowing it to flow into streets and drains.
- Water during the morning and evening, when evaporation is lower, rather than during the heat of the day. One large soaking provides plants with more benefits than several smaller watering sessions.
- Leave your lawn clippings in place. They cool the ground and help to reduce evaporation.
In your home:
- Make sure to completely turn off taps to prevent dripping and to repair any taps that are leaking. A leaky faucet can waste hundreds of gallons of water a year.
- Handwashing dishes and bringing back clotheslines saves energy, and thousands of gallons of water a year.
- Brush those pearly whites for the full three minutes, but don’t keep the tap on! A simple spritz at the beginning and end will do the trick.
- Wash your car from a bucket, not the hose.
- Save electricity. Cutting down on your electrical usage will save you money, and it saves huge amounts of water wherever your electricity is produced.
To change the James, we need to change our actions! And the easiest way to change our actions is in our homes. All it takes is a few small steps, and saving water is a simple way of making a difference!