Clean water that is available for drinking is a finite resource that is becoming scarce. Although water is constantly recycled through the Earth's water cycle, people are using up the planet's fresh water faster than it can be replenished. Global warming is drying up our lakes and rivers, and at the rate in which we are consuming resources now, water may soon become a priceless resource. Water conservation can reduce energy and even save households tons of money. Water is the cornerstone of life, and it is an absolute essential for us to survive. Here are three interesting methods that have been used to save water that proved to be extremely effective.

1. Tell people just how much water they have

In Melbourne, they realized that telling people exactly how much water they had was much more effective than keeping their people in the blind. This lowered water usage but also allowed the people to make their own decision. Melbourne used electronic billboards to notify people in real-time of the water they had. This actually caused a third of the citizens living there to create rainwater holding tanks in their homes and built a sense of community as they all worked together to preserve their water.

2. Empowering people to save water

Some of the most water is used to shower. However, asking people to take shorter showers has not worked. People, women especially, say that the shower is their "sanctuary." Somewhere in which they can relax and think. Because of this, Melbourne began to hand out water-efficient showerheads to the public - for free! However, this did not work either. People did not want to install the showerheads because they were ugly. However, instead of giving up, Melbourne came up with yet a new solution: showerhead filters. These filters fit into most showerheads and efficiently cut down water usage. These showerhead filters cut down the water used by showering 50%.

3. Think Outside the Water Tank.

Water savings can come from unexpected places. In Singapore, they built the Marina Barrage - a huge water reservoir in the middle of the city. Because they have so little land, building a water reservoir in the city was a great idea. The Marina Barrage is about a sixth the size of the city and boosted the water supply of Singapore by about ten percent. In addition to saving water, this reservoir also promotes their economy by proving to be a popular tourist attraction and preventing floods.