Water Conservation: What is Our Responsibility to Protect This Vital Resource?

One of the most important sustainability initiatives around the world is to conserve the usage of water. But why is that? Is not over 70% of the earth covered in water? What can be done to protect this vital resource?

Join us and discover what water conservation is all about, why it matters, what we are doing to manage our water resources in our All Inclusive resorts, and how you can take part in protecting the planet. 

What does water conservation mean?

It is important to clarify that water conservation is not in regard to just any type of water, but rather, it is to protect the freshwater sources of our world. Water as a whole is not lacking since we have vast oceans that span the globe but freshwater on the other hand is a different matter entirely.

When talking about conservation it usually means to protect something and to ensure that it is not wasted or lost. Therefore water conservation is in reference to the actions taken to maintain the natural resource of fresh water and to make sure that it is not wasted but instead is ready and available for our continued use. 

If there is no water management in place and water conservation is not prioritized, this can lead to a shortage or lack of water. Thus the reason why we need to harvest water, recycle it, and minimize its usage. The ecosystem is cleverly designed to circulate water back to us but this means that we also need to make sure that we return it into the world the way that it was meant to. 

Why is saving water so important?

Water is a vital resource and one of the most important assets of our planet. Despite an incredibly large portion of the earth being covered in deep waters, the freshwater portion of this supply makes up only about three percent, meaning that over 95% of our water is not drinkable or usable for freshwater applications.

In addition to this, it is important to remember that a large portion of that freshwater is not usable because it is locked away in icebergs, glaciers, or held underground in crevices or in the soil. 

So how much do we actually have access to?

According to the USBR (United States Bureau of Reclamation), 2.5% of the earth's freshwater is inaccessible meaning that worldwide only about 0.5% of the world's water is available for freshwater use. That is not much at all.

Making water available to everyone is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity today and every business, individual and brand must consider how they can create sustainable systems and solutions to protect and conserve water and make the most of its use.

What is The Excellence Collection doing to conserve water?

The Excellence Collection as part of its Social Corporate Responsibility has a Green Team in place to handle the sustainability of their All Inclusive resorts. This involves ecological solutions and innovations to make the resort's processes and activities more sustainable. So what is our responsibility to protect and conserve a resource as vital as water? 

Well, thanks to our water conservation program a dedicated effort has been made to monitor the use of our freshwater and find ways to minimize its expenditure. Whilst the Green Team continue to search for new ways to conserve freshwater, they have currently integrated the following control measures into their facilities.

• Awareness campaigns to promote the responsible use of sanitary water among employees.
• Aerators and low-water-usage equipment are strategically installed throughout facilities.
• Pools are efficiently backwashed.
• Water-saving bathrooms feature dual-flush options of 3 and 6 liters.
• The laundry teams only do full loads of washing so as to maximize the usage of the water.
• Used water is sourced through sustainable means, ensuring the legality of the resource acquisition, and a way to measure its use.
• Drinking water is recovered for irrigation purposes, in resorts with a Wastewater Plant.

What can you do to help?

Whilst a large measure of sustainable responsibility lies on the shoulders of the facilities and staff that run a resort there is still a lot you can do to help conserve water. Let us take a look at a few of these things now. 

• The Towel Exchange Program. This is an option for all guests where you can choose to use a towel more than once to avoid daily towel washing, thereby conserving water.
• Throughout your stay, you will have plenty of opportunities to use freshwater for a variety of purposes. By remaining conscious of what you use and only taking what you really need you can be a more sustainable traveler. 
• Another thing that you can do as a guest is to look out for any water wastage. If you notice a tap left on, a leaking pipe, or some other form of misuse, you can report it to the staff so that it can be taken care of right away. 

Whilst these things are valid options for your sustainable travel, water conservation is something that we can all take part in throughout our daily lives. Whether you are doing the dishes at home, watering the garden, or washing the car, being water conscious can help conserve water and make the most of this highly valuable resource.