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Students take part in a face painting competition at SNTI Auditorium in Jamshedpur on Sunday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

A minute of keeping the tap open without reason can send up to 10 precious litres of water down the drain.

Many little-known water facts such as this were discussed at a workshop hosted by Rotary Club of Jamshedpur on Sunday in a bid for a greener planet.

Titled Water Literacy, the meet was held for the community at large, including students, households, buildings and industrialists, with an aim to educate people about conservation to benefit future generations.

Besides Rotarians, representatives from the corporate sector, forest department, builders, students, builders, petty contractors, and environmentalists participated in the workshop at the SNTI auditorium.

“Most water leaks on the roads go unreported. Thousands of litres of water are wasted by the time we find out about it. Since we can’t watch every nook and corner of the city, we want people to inform us. Once someone calls, the problem will be repaired as soon as possible,” said Pranay Sinha, deputy general manager, water management, Jusco.

Success stories in rural areas that have adopted watershed management techniques were also shared to give a glimpse of the solutions available at hand.

The role of the industry in saving water, watershed and rainwater harvesting tips were also discussed.

For homes, the workshop emphasised on a water usage guide and suggested a home water audit for a week to assess a family’s average consumption, and based on findings, save water.

Some simple ways mentioned were using a tumbler while brushing, controlling the speed of the tap, soaking and washing dishes in a tub and covering open tanks to prevent evaporation.

If there were lessons for individuals and communities, builders were also not left out of the loop.

Innovative building techniques — recycling waste water in residential colonies and apartments, for instance — were shared at the meet. Representatives of Ashiana Housing Limited spoke on techniques in use for 15 years, which saves and recycles water.

“As a housing company, it becomes very important to give comfort to customers and at the same time save the environment. Through rainwater harvesting in our projects, we have been promoting water conservation. I think it is high time that everybody adopts it,” said Ashit Sengupta, general manager, Ashiana Housing Limited.

A fancy dress competition, a face painting competition and a placard-making competition based on the theme of water conservation were held for around 40 students of Classes VIII, IX and X of city cradles, including ADLS Sunshine School, Narbheram Hansraj English School, Kerala Public School Kadma and Valley View School.