In today’s marketplace earth-friendly operations are at the forefront of many restaurant and hotel operations and management teams. Though true sustainable operations and water saving measures may not be possible to retrofit into every concept, more and more restaurants and hotels are finding it possible to take small steps that can make a big difference, both in their location or property and beyond it. The global water crisis is one cause that is being addressed in many ways – and there are many ways to get involved to help in mitigation of this issue.

There are outside groups and companies that can provide information and tools or equipment to help in the water conservation effort. It is not uncommon to see in-house water filtration systems that use existing utility infrastructure (rather than expensive bottled water) or to see low-flow water faucets, showers, sinks, dishwashers, toilets and other equipment that defray water usage. Beyond the restaurant or hotel setting, there are organizations and events such as Unicef’s Tap Project where restaurant guests are asked to donate/pay $1 per glass or bottle of tap water they would have normally received for free, with proceeds to go to Unicef to assist in providing solutions for clean water sources to help some of the world’s nearly 800 million people who are living without it.

When one of our clients recently discovered an infographic illustrating the facts and astonishing numbers that define The Global Water Crisis, it made us take notice and want to share the findings and our thoughts.

Supplied by Seametrics Inc., a leader in water solutions, treatment and management, The Global Water Crises infographic surmises that despite the critical role water plays in our everyday lives, the world’s freshwater supply is fading fast due to our population growth speed, industrialization and increased standards of living.

In fact, in the last 40 years, the world’s population has doubled while our use of freshwater had quadrupled! So, review the below and visit Water.org or the Environmental Protection Agency to learn more about what you can do to help.