Water is the origin of life and nurtures the development of everything in nature. Without a sufficient amount of water, human beings face serious disaster. By knowing the origins of household water and trying to conserve it in one's daily life, people can reduce the impact of the current drought in southwestern China.

Students stand outside the Beijing Water Conservation Museum in western Beijing on Wednesday, April 7, 2010. [CRIENGLISH.com]

Most people just take tap water for granted without considering where it comes from. Kang Lan, a guide at the Beijing Water Conservation Museum, says drinking water must undergo a very complicated treatment process before it can be transported to thousands of households.

"Before it runs out of the spigot, the household water coming from the reservoir goes to various factories to be treated, so it can be clean enough to drink. It requires the efforts of a great many people and doesn't come out easily."

Many who visit the museum especially like a platform displaying how much water a single person consumes daily. To demonstrate this clearly and effectively, the amount of water used for daily activities such as washing cloths and cooking is measured by soft drink bottles that contain 1.25 liters of water. By pressing a button beside a washtub, for instance, 164 bottles of water are lifted, indicating that the amount of water a person uses during a shower. Other activities that require water such as flushing a toilet, cooking a meal for three people and washing clothes consume nine, 36 and 122 bottles of water, respectively.

Students who visit the museum are amazed by the amount of water they use and calculate that one person will use at least 331 bottles of water during a single day. If the bottles of cola were real, they could drink one bottle every day for an entire year.

Sixteen-year old An Zhenpeng says he and his classmates have also visited some water-processing plants and learned many tips about conserving water.

"We learned a lot about water and how to save water in our daily lives. For example, we can use the water that we have washed our faces and hands with to wash our feet and flush the toilet. We can save a lot of water this way."

Although 70 percent of the earth is covered by water, less than 0.26 percent of it can be used by humans. China has 2,400 cubic meters of water for each of its roughly 1.3 billion people. This is one-fourth of the world's average amount of water. At the moment, people who live in southwestern China are battling a drought which has become more severe during the past month. This means that water conservation has taken on a greater importance throughout the nation.