Water Conservation Competition

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Why Is Water Conservation Important? 

  • With growing population rates and only 3% all the water on Earth fit for consumption, it is crucial that we conserve water. 
  • Experts weighing in at World Water Week in Stockholm estimate that half of the irrigation water used around the world is lost to wasted food-the equivalent every year to half of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, or 365 trillion gallons (1,380 cubic kilometers). 
  • In the U.S. alone, we throw away or waste about 30% of our food or about 11 trillion gallons of irrigation water. 
  • Conserving water also prevents greenhouse gas emissions associated with treating and distributing water.
  • If all Americans cut down their shower time to 5 mins, we would save enough water to fill 1.9 million Olympic swimming pools each year.

 

What We’re Doing About this at Cal State East Bay

SustainEastBay and Student Housing & Residence Hall have partnered together to host a water conservation competition for the residence halls, to educate students how to conserve water. The goal of this competition is to motivate people and to foster a community that recognizes the economic, environmental, and social importance of conserving water. We hope to instill a sense of awareness among students, so they can make conscious decisions to reduce their water-waste footprint. 

 

The competition will run through the Fall semester:

The residence hall that has the lowest percentage of water use per resident will win prizes for the entire hall and major bragging rights! Residents can also post a picture of their shower timer or playlist on social media and tag @SustainEastBay to win a grand prize. 

 

What can you do to conserve water?

Reduce food waste by: 

  • Buying only what you need. 
  • Composting your food waste. 
  • Buying food from local sources. 
  • Getting creative with your leftovers and turning them into new recipes. 
  • Calculating your water footprint and learning more about how to save water at www.watercalculator.org 
In your residence hall/home:
  • Take 5-minute showers.
  • Turn off the faucet while not in use.
  • Wash dishes and laundry in full load only.
  • Report water leaks immediately.
  • Carry a refillable water bottle.

For more tips and tools to help conserve water, please visit @SustainEastBay on Instagram. To get involved with future Cal State East Bay sustainability efforts, contact sustainability@csueastbay.edu.