Importance of water to man.

By

Luciah Muthoni Kaguru

Water is used for different purposes at home, for example washing clothes; drinking, bathing, washing utensils and cooking. In farms plants needs water for them to grow well. During dry seasons during water is used to irrigate crops. Livestock needs water for drinking after feeding every day. Some other animals like fish live in water. If they are removed fish from water they die.

Uses of water for recreation.
Recreation is doing things for enjoyment. Water sports are recreation activities. They include swimming, boat racing sailing and fishing. Water sports can take place in swimming pools, dams, rivers, lakes and oceans.

Uses of water in industries.
Most industries in Kenya need water to make their products, to cool their machines, to clean equipments and to clean various parts. Soft drinks are made from water, so they use a lot of water. Many other industries also use water to mix chemicals and to wash the materials.

Uses of water for transport.
There are areas in the world that are surrounded by water. These areas are called islands. You have to use a boat or a ship to get to these islands people also transport goods using ships ferries and boats. This is because water transport is cheap and the ships and ferries can carry a lot of goods. Ferries and boats move on water to transport people and goods.

Water storage.
We can use different things to store water at home for example tanks, drums, buckets and jerry cans. Storage of water saves us the time and energy of going to the river every time stored water may also be useful when there is shortage of water, the government may construct a dam to control the flow of water.

Advantages of water.
Water transport is cheap; this is because ships and ferries can carry a lot of goods.
Stored water saves us the time and energy of going to the river every time, women are mostly burdened by water collecting activities.
Fishing is a major source of employment, when they sell fish they get money for their needs. Water is used to generate hydro electric power (h.e.p) most of the electricity we use is generated from water.

Disadvantages of water
When there is a lot of Rain Rivers and dams become flooded with water hence the bridges are carried away and people are unable to cross the river, floods causes’ soil erosion, destruction of property and even drown people and livestock.