IT IS reassuring to know that Wanganui is able to tap into an extensive underground water catchment which is large enough to keep the city's thirst quenched for the foreseeable future.
The matter of water - how much we're using each day, and how much is there in the firstplace - has been in the headlines this week, largely due to concerns promoted by Wanganui district councillor Ray Stevens.
Mr Stevens was alarmed because he calculated the city was using more water than its consents allowed. In that he was wrong and, thankfully, the city is using less than three-quarters of its allowable daily limit - even as the big dry of a searing summer continues.
While the councillor miscalculated, his argument - that we need to be aware of living with a finite resource and that we need to promote a strong water conservation ethos - merits attention.
There is ample evidence of the pressure our planet is under through over-exploitation of resources. In many places water is the most precious of these resources; wars have been fought over it and people regularly perish because they can't get it.
A person can live for over a month without food, but only about three days without water.
Fortunately, Wanganui is not in such dire straits, but that doesn't mean we can't understand how precious a commodity it is. Most of us waste far too much water every day, so any effort to promote conservation should not be ignored.
Mr Stevens intends taking the matter up with his council colleagues and getting some strategy in place.
