A Survey of Laboratory Practice on Water Scarcity: Conservation …
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hovered at 286 L per person per day in 2016. According to a report, the State Government of Penang had expressed regret on the issue of over used water in Penang (Free
Malaysia Today 2017). The poor water management system is partly to be blamed for
the high water consumption record in Penang. The high water consumption among
the Penangites was due to its low water rates of only about 32 cents per meter cube
for the first 35,000 L per consumer per month. In monetary terms, the water wastage
drained from the distillation process constitutes about 4% of the total water bill in
USM. When the amount of water is calculated based on local household tariffs, it
worth circa RM 8532 yearly. This amount can hit up to RM 35,000 if s similar
situation occurred in Johor, Malaysia (RM 1.32 per meter cubic). The wastage corresponds to approximately RM 90K ($30,416.55 with $1.17 per meter cubic) annually
based on the water tariff of our neighboring country, Singapore (Singapore’s National
Water Agency 2017). More conversion have been done as presented in Table 3 and
the numbers are worrying and may impact human life silently.
Originally, human perceptions and attitudes toward water resources is the key
influence on the practice of water conservation (de Miranda Coelho et al. 2016). For
instance, people that are not aware of water conservation issues are likely to increase
the usage of water or waste the water. In the current study, responses from the participants is sheds light on the perception of water users towards conservation of water.
They have positively responded to the initiative of raising the current problem in
the view of water scarcity. Respondents’ awareness of the water conservation issue
is important as it shows significant correlation to the perception and willingness of
involvement in water conservation programs (p < 0.05). However the majority of the
respondents have revealed their ignorance of the tremendous amount of water consumption/wastage from the distillation process. When the respondents were asked
about their support of water recycling from the distillation process, 15 respondents
revealed doubt and did not support its reuse. Their reasons include the involvement
of high cost in re-processing the water, and some even stated their despair on being
unable to control the conservation idea and hence giving up. Most of the respondents
expressed their willingness in supporting and being involved in the water conservation project. This indicated that the USM residents are ready to open their arms in
embracing changes toward a more sustainable water management.
Distilled water is water that has had many of its impurities removed (Kozisek
2005; Hulett 1896). It is collected through the distillation process. Water that was
not successfully distilled or vaporized as steam will be discharged through the outlet
and drained into the sink. The “drained water” that is not collected during the distillation process consists of slightly concentrated water with pre-existing minerals or
chemicals that are used to treat tap water. Based on the distilled and drained water
ratio as shown in Fig. 2, it is approximately 5% more concentrated compared to
normal tap water. As there may be concern regarding the impact of this impurity,
water quality of the water produced shall be included as consideration when devising
further use of this water (Kozisek 2005). According to the response from the current
study, this recycled water was suggested to be used for non-potable purposes such as
gardening, general cleaning, landscape and public parks. Other potential non-potable
applications may include cooling water for power plants and oil refineries, industrial
773
hovered at 286 L per person per day in 2016. According to a report, the State Government of Penang had expressed regret on the issue of over used water in Penang (Free
Malaysia Today 2017). The poor water management system is partly to be blamed for
the high water consumption record in Penang. The high water consumption among
the Penangites was due to its low water rates of only about 32 cents per meter cube
for the first 35,000 L per consumer per month. In monetary terms, the water wastage
drained from the distillation process constitutes about 4% of the total water bill in
USM. When the amount of water is calculated based on local household tariffs, it
worth circa RM 8532 yearly. This amount can hit up to RM 35,000 if s similar
situation occurred in Johor, Malaysia (RM 1.32 per meter cubic). The wastage corresponds to approximately RM 90K ($30,416.55 with $1.17 per meter cubic) annually
based on the water tariff of our neighboring country, Singapore (Singapore’s National
Water Agency 2017). More conversion have been done as presented in Table 3 and
the numbers are worrying and may impact human life silently.
Originally, human perceptions and attitudes toward water resources is the key
influence on the practice of water conservation (de Miranda Coelho et al. 2016). For
instance, people that are not aware of water conservation issues are likely to increase
the usage of water or waste the water. In the current study, responses from the participants is sheds light on the perception of water users towards conservation of water.
They have positively responded to the initiative of raising the current problem in
the view of water scarcity. Respondents’ awareness of the water conservation issue
is important as it shows significant correlation to the perception and willingness of
involvement in water conservation programs (p < 0.05). However the majority of the
respondents have revealed their ignorance of the tremendous amount of water consumption/wastage from the distillation process. When the respondents were asked
about their support of water recycling from the distillation process, 15 respondents
revealed doubt and did not support its reuse. Their reasons include the involvement
of high cost in re-processing the water, and some even stated their despair on being
unable to control the conservation idea and hence giving up. Most of the respondents
expressed their willingness in supporting and being involved in the water conservation project. This indicated that the USM residents are ready to open their arms in
embracing changes toward a more sustainable water management.
Distilled water is water that has had many of its impurities removed (Kozisek
2005; Hulett 1896). It is collected through the distillation process. Water that was
not successfully distilled or vaporized as steam will be discharged through the outlet
and drained into the sink. The “drained water” that is not collected during the distillation process consists of slightly concentrated water with pre-existing minerals or
chemicals that are used to treat tap water. Based on the distilled and drained water
ratio as shown in Fig. 2, it is approximately 5% more concentrated compared to
normal tap water. As there may be concern regarding the impact of this impurity,
water quality of the water produced shall be included as consideration when devising
further use of this water (Kozisek 2005). According to the response from the current
study, this recycled water was suggested to be used for non-potable purposes such as
gardening, general cleaning, landscape and public parks. Other potential non-potable
applications may include cooling water for power plants and oil refineries, industrial