Can you Imagine a Day Without Water?

You wake up one morning to a long day of work ahead of you, and prepare yourself to get ready for the day. You get out of bed, flip the light switch, but your room doesn’t illuminate.

Strange, you think, toggling the switch again. Nothing happens.

You shrug it off and squint your way to the bathroom. Putting toothpaste on your toothbrush, you hold it under the faucet - but low and behold, no water comes to wet your toothbrush.

Your stove won’t light for your morning eggs; you can’t pour water into the pot for coffee; can’t even flush that foul stench down your toilet. Imagine a Day Without Water! 

The average American uses an average of 80-100 gallons of water a day at home, while a whole family will use more than 300 gallons of water, according to the United States Geological Survey. The United States Environmental Protection Agency federal standard for the maximum amount of water used to flush the toilet is 1.6 gallons - the reality of the situation is that the water used on that one flush is higher quality and quantity than many people around the world have access to their whole day. 

An article published by USC News reported that researchers found that 58 trillion gallons of water are withdrawn every year for use in producing power for the U.S. energy system alone (enough to fill 88 million Olympic-sized swimming pools). Our energy systems are dependent on water for their operation - without water, life as we know it would be impossible. 

In developing countries, our brothers and sisters often use one gallon of water a day, sometimes laboring for hours just to arrive home with parasitic, or even deadly, water. This labor is often the duty of the women and children of these communities, often resulting in children missing days of school and a stifling of their education and upward mobility. 

For just one day, Oct. 21, 2021, Imagine a Day Without Water calls everyone to consider the value of water in their own life and the reality of the global water crisis impacting billions of people around the world. During the campaign leading up to Oct. 21, Vera Aqua Vera Vita is asking everyone to use social media and word of mouth to raise awareness, and partake in the VAVV one-gallon-solidarity challenge while encouraging everyone to try to walk in the shoes of one of our less fortunate brothers and sisters around the world, and even those right in our backyard.

The global water crisis is closer to home than we may even realize because even with the modern infrastructure in the United States, the Guardian published an article earlier this year reporting that they sampled water from around the U.S. and found alarming rates of arsenic, lead and toxic chemicals. Without significant development, innovation, and empowerment, these issues will continue to plague the lives of billions around the world and even in our own country

Join us! Raise awareness about the global water crisis for your family, friends and coworkers; share facts on social media; participate in the one-gallon-solidarity challenge to really experience their struggle; and come join the conversation at the VAVV Imagine a Day Without Water Roundtable Live Stream on October 20th to hear from the VAVV team about the importance and impact of water and what can be done to help VAVV combat the global water crisis!