Managing water resources is a huge responsibility mainly because there is not so much fresh and drinking water on the planet. According to the data provided by governmental services, more than 98 percent of the water available on the planet is either salt ocean water or the water of ice caps. The water we use for industries and in the households is really scarce. Some part of developing countries’ population still has no access to fresh drinking water, and some members of industrialized societies do not quite realize all the responsibility put on them.
Conservation and sustainable water management are urgent issues of environmental protection. Water management has different weak points in urban and rural areas. In large cities, the majority of consumers do not fully realize how precious their tap water is. People think that the water will never run away because it constantly circulates in the environment. Nevertheless, small leaks and unrestricted use of water drain natural reserves and put a threat of water scarcity for future generations. Rural population uses a large amount of water for irrigation which is not always sustainable. Tap water causes salinization of soil because its physical qualities are not precisely as the qualities of the rainfall fresh water.
Recycling of water is a must for the conservation of its natural reserves. Wastewater treatment facilities perform decontamination of used water so that it could be safely used in future. Skipping this step, industries contaminate environment and individuals have a high risk to be infected by untreated wastes. Another way to conserve fresh water is to protect its natural reservoirs. The Great Lakes natural system, for example, is the largest freshwater system on the planet, protected by local and federal laws.