"Your Daily Drop: Power to Save Gurugram’s Water Future"

Even a single drop of water can save a life or sustain an entire ecosystem, making it essential for our planet's tranquility and beauty, and of utmost value to all living beings on Earth.

As said by National Geographic, “Most people have heard Earth referred to as "the water planet." With that name comes the rightful image of a world with plentiful water.” However, of all the water on Earth, only about 3% is freshwater, and most of it is locked up in glaciers and icecaps. Leaving only about 0.5% of this sacred substance to the billions of various species of animals plus the 8.2 billion humans that rely on it.

In Haryana, the water crisis is at another level, due to our sole reliance on groundwater. Unfortunately, due to illegal mining activities in the Aravallis-our green lungs-the groundwater supply is being depleted, further reducing the availability of potable water to citizens of Gurugram.

The struggle for potable water in India is significant, with over 193 million people lacking access to clean water. However, citizens of Nirvana Country (Gurugram) receive 625 litres, 5 times the amount other urban areas receive per capita, and 13 times the rural availability.

As we have the power to access this gift, we must be responsible for its judicious usage, ensuring that we use not what we can, but only what we need, so that water can be used by everyone for their basic needs. 

Firstly, water saving devices can be extremely beneficial to reduce our water consumption. Tap aerators are small gadgets which you can attach onto your tap, that help reduce water flow by upto 50%, from 3 litres used in 30 seconds, to just 1.25 litres. 

Rainwater harvesting pits can be made in households to, quite literally, catch the rain, and optimize on the free water that is nature’s gift to us.

STP (or Sewage Treatment Plants) can treat greywater, or waste water that comes from dishwashing, handwashing, and we can once again, repurpose that precious water and use it for gardening, cleaning, and give it a new job of its own, instead of letting it go down the drain.

Now, conserving water is no more a matter of choice, but a matter of necessity. There are small daily hacks that we must habitually implement to save a lot of fresh, potable water. Making sure we turn the tap off while applying soap or brushing our teeth is a must, as most of the water we use for brushing and bathing is not even used for actual cleaning. Since RO tanks only use 1/3rd of the actual water being supplied, we must make sure that the outlet pipe is not let into the drain, and that it is instead channeled into a storage location, where it is ready for a new purpose. While washing our cars, driveways or watering plants, we can use spray bottles and gardening cans, to reduce the flow of water that is released, consequently optimizing our usage.

Our body is made up of roughly 70% of water, which is the same amount of water that the Earth is made up of. This is not a coincidence, but indeed shows how connected we are to nature, and how our incessant wastage of water is not only impacting billions of species and disrupting ecosystems, but will be damaging our lives in many ways.

I will always be grateful for the day I walked into the office of an NGO called GuruJal, that took my sustainability journey to the next level and I  began my first project that will stay close to my heart for a lifetime. In January 2025, my father shared with me that he had met and collaborated with a Gurugram based NGO, called GuruJal. They work on water conservation and restoration.

When I discussed issues close to my heart, I wanted to use this opportunity to gain  knowledge on their areas of expertise, which is water preservation.They shared with me the current scenario in our city and state and steps their NGO has taken. 

As a first step, they asked me to conduct a water audit in my school and my society to understand how much water is being used for different purposes, and current practices.

Post analysis, the team suggested for my school and homes in my society,  the solution of tap aerators, which are small round gadgets that can be attached to a tap, and they reduce water flow by upto 50%, from 3 litres in 30 seconds, to around 1.25! 

I shared this solution with my school, and my teachers supported me, and with the help of the management department, we are looking to install these devices in our school, to save upto 11,000 litres per day!

This journey taught me so much, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Along with my classmates, it also gave me the inspiration to bring this solution to Nirvana Country and other societies in Gurugram. I am looking forward to the aerator installation drive in the coming weeks! 

In addition, I am also looking at conducting workshops on water usage best practices with didis and mali bhaiyas in Nirvana country who are the main users of water and workers at our homes.

This journey showed me, saving water is not only dependent on using these technologies, but is a journey of attitudinal and behavioural changes. It showed me that small daily habits can make a very large impact, and even something as small as an aerator has the power to transform lives - drop by drop.