Uses of water

Uses of water

1. Biological use. Water is essential to life. Most of the reactions in animals and plants take place in solutions in water. Plants absorb minerals from the soil in solution form. Animals and plants are found near or in areas where water can be found.

2. Domestic use. Water that is used in the home every day including water for normal household purposes such as washing clothes and dishes, drinking, bathing, food preparation, flushing toilets, and watering lawns and gardens, etc.

3. Industrial use. Water is a valuable resource to the nation's industries for such purposes as processing, cleaning, transportation, dilution, and cooling in manufacturing industries. Major water-using industries include cloth, steel, chemical, paper, and petroleum refining. Industries often reuse the same water repeatedly for more than one purpose. It is also used for cooling certain parts of machines.

4. Irrigation. Water is artificially applied to farm, orchard pasture, and horticultural crops, as well as leaching of salts from the crop root zone in sodic soils. Non-agricultural activities include self supplied water to irrigate public and private flower gardens, loans, football pitches, etc.

5. Water as a solvent. It is used for dissolution of chemicals ranging from poisonous chemicals used in agriculture to non-poisonous chemicals used in hospitals, laboratories, research stations and for other general purposes.

6. Cooling and heating. Due to its high specific heat capacity, water is used as a coolant for cooling automobile engines and other machines.

7. Habitat. Water is a habitat for fish and all aquatic animals and plants.

8. Livestock use. This includes water for stock animals, feedlots, dairies, fish farms and other nonfarm animals. In arid regions of Tanzania, the Government has constructed dams to supply water to cattle, and for some domestic uses.

9. Mining. Water is used in mines for extraction of naturally occurring minerals: solids, such as coal and ores; liquids, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas.

10. Generation of electricity. Hydroelectric power is generated by river water. Fast-moving river water (especially in waterfalls and cataracts) is used to turn turbines to generate hydroelectricity that is supplied to homes, industries, towns, etc.

11. Navigation and recreation. People, goods and services can be transported via water bodies like rivers, lakes and oceans by using vessels such as boats, dhows, canoes and ships.