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| Photo by Gabe Silver |
In 2001, the World Health Organization and the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre established March 22 as World Water Day, a day to raise awareness of the link between clean water and health. Approximately 3.3 million people die from water-related health problems each year. Here in the U.S. we tend to take safe drinking water for granted. We’re fortunate in that regard.
While today we worry about the price of gasoline and the future of fossil fuels, the world’s future is really all about water. Water means life itself and the demand for water, especially clean water, by the world’s 83 million people will only continue to grow. Unlike energy sources, there is no substitute for water. As our moist precious resource, the world’s water supply demands protection and conservation.
We in Central Virginia are fortunate to have such an abundant and relatively clean water resource as the James River. Communities up and down its length get their drinking water from the James, rely on it for food, employment and recreation. It’s relatively easy to take such things for granted. But we shouldn’t …not on World Water day or any other day.
As spring showers feed the James and its many tributaries, we all need to be more aware of the heath of our local waters. If you think about it (and JRA hopes you do), the James River really starts in our backyards. We can help maintain a healthier river in the future by controlling runoff from new development, agricultural land and residential yards. For example, this spring, if you install a rain barrel at your home, you can capture and recycle enough water to meet approximately 65 percent of the water needs of your moderately landscaped yard. By making this one effort to control the amount of runoff from your property – by treating water as the precious resource it is – you’ll be helping to protect the James and its tributaries for at least 3 million of the world’s 83 million people. Starting today, make every drop count.
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