A Water Lifestyle
Water has become my life. Last night I fell asleep to the soothing sounds of a mild rainstorm. Every time I wash my hands/take a shower/flush the toilet I think about the water running down the drain; where does it go? How much am I wasting? When I don’t finish drinking a glass of water I feel guilty, knowing many people would treasure each last drop.
One morning I woke up and found the faucet of the bathroom dripping. Had it been dripping all night? I could hardly bear to think about how much water could have been wasted. I grabbed a sheet of paper and did some calculations. If it had been dripping for 7 hours at the slow rate of 6 drops per minute, 0.63L had gone down the drain unused. To put this into perspective I did some further online research. In cups, just over 2 cups had been wasted. The average person drinks 2.5 cups of regular water a day, only a bit more than the amount of water that had been wasted from forgetting to fully turn off a faucet. Although I was not the one to leave the faucet dripping, I still felt intense feelings of responsibility.
I do not know how to reconcile the inevitability of my using water with the guilt that now accompanies it.
I still would not turn back time and change my mind about being a part of this project. Although ripping away my veil of ignorance has come with the weight of accountability, I feel empowered.
I can make changes. I can inspire others to make changes. Together, we can make a permanent difference.
Deveny Miles
January 2015
Intern for Dry Run Studio “Bridge” project
