The answer to this question is not as simple as you might think. Yes, water evaporates and then returns to earth as precipitation (rain, fog, snow, etc.) and the same water animals drank 6 million years ago is the same water we drink today! But this doesn't mean that wasting water is okay. Water conservation is becoming an increasingly important issue!
Did you know though that only 3% of the earth's water is freshwater? The other 97% is ocean water, which is undrinkable. Of all the water in the world, almost half of it is polluted in some way. Polluted water can lead to disease and death and cause things like acid rain.
Did you know that over 1 billion people on the planet do not have access to clean drinking water? As the population of the planet grows, this problem will increase since the amount of freshwater we have will always remain the same. Groundwater cannot replenish itself at the rate we remove it from the earth. Global climate change has also contributed to water shortages in places where lack of precipitation has caused drought and too much precipitation has caused flooding which makes the water unsuitable for consumption.
Another reason to be mindful of water conservation is energy consumption. Heating the water you need for a shower or bath takes energy and every drop of water that goes down the drain must be cleaned at a water treatment plant, which also takes energy.
Like all issues having to do with the environment, we often don't seem to be concerned with a resource as long as it seems abundant. In the United States, we have an ample amount of freshwater because of the number of lakes and streams. In other parts of the world however, the amount of water we would use to take one 2-3 minute shower is the same amount of water an entire family uses to cook, clean, and drink for an entire week.
Think twice before you waste water and learn what can be done to keep water from becoming polluted!
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