Published in Water Awareness Week- 2011 Souvenir, by Oil India Ltd. Duliajan
Abhijit Kalita
Manager (E/M)
Steam Turbine & Aux.
AGBP: NEEPCO Ltd.
Bakuloni- Dibrugarh - Assam
Introduction
Water covers 70.9% of the Earth's surface, and is vital for all known forms of life. On Earth, it is found mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground in aquifers and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. A very small amount of the Earth's water is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.
As a result of growth in Industrialization and population explosion with a tendency of urbanization, there is a tremendous increase in water consumption both in Industrial and domestic level, and the sources of water are not being able to meet up this demand. So the sources are depleting and the results are obvious. Already in quite a few cities particularly in developing nations, are facing severe water crisis. And the problem is more or less evident in almost all of the industrialized places.
To counter this the need of regulating, controlling use of water and reducing wastages , i.e. using the available water more efficiently, the concept of water management has come. Now, before we plan and manager our water resources, it’s required to know our water usage exactly. That is where water audit system plays its part. A comprehensive water use audit will examine the major areas in which a facility uses water, including sanitation, maintenance, mechanical systems, building processes and irrigation. For each of those areas, the water use audit will provide breakdown of the how, when and where of water use. In addition, water use audits will take into consideration the water quality. Some of the large potential savings that can be achieved is through the recycling of water and the use of rain water. Water audits can help identify potential uses and optimization of water use.
