A 15-minute shower each morning. A toilet flush. A workout at the gym. A load of laundry. A stop at the drinking fountain in Denny Hall. What do these have in common? The one substance we tend to take for granted almost as much as the oxygen we breathe — water.

According to WaterPartners International, "Just one average American person uses 100 to 176 gallons of water at home each day." This creates the starkest possible comparison when considering that "the average African family uses about five gallons of water each day."

When the average person in our society uses more than 20 times the amount of water that an entire family uses in one of the world's most disease and poverty-stricken areas, something is seriously wrong.

Thanks to the efforts of a combination of organizations, awareness about this situation is growing, though not nearly fast enough.

The observance of World Water Day on March 22 of each year grew from a 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development meeting where it was decided that the world's sanitation and water crisis had reached unacceptable proportions.

The UN International Decade for Action Water was launched, spanning from 2005 - 15. The first water decade (1981-90) brought water to a billion people and sanitation to 77 million.

Today there are still nearly 1.1 billion people without adequate access to water and 2.4 billion without access to adequate sanitation. The goal of this second water decade is to reduce by half the number of people without access to clean water and sanitation by 2015.

The statistics related to deaths caused by water shortages are staggering. Water-related disease accounts for 80 percent of all sickness in the developing world, killing about 5 million people each year, again according to WaterPartners International. Additionally, water-related diseases are the leading cause of death to children under age 5.

Perhaps even more sadly, WaterPartners International notes that the cleanliness of the water isn't as important as having access to it: "In reducing sickness and death from diarrhea, providing an adequate supply of water is usually more important than improving its quality."

It is encouraging that awareness of the world's water crisis is growing exponentially each year. In 2005, World Water Day gathered together about 30 people in the National Press Club, according to Ethos Water's Web site.

In 2006, with the support of Starbucks, Walk for Water events were held in 11 cities across the country and 3,000 people participated either in person or through the Virtual Walk for Water. This year, World Water Day events were held in 26 cities.

The inspiration for the event is in recognition of the three to six miles women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa must walk each day to get water, according to Ethos.

World Water Day 2007 has passed, but let's not forget about the international water crisis until next March. Everyone on Earth has a responsibility for the natural resources they use and to preserve those resources when they can.

The best steps to take in this water decade are small ones.

Try keeping a water diary for a week to see just how much water you use each day, then try reducing that number.

Become aware of the activist companies that support the water crisis, like Ethos Water, whose bottles are sold at Starbucks. For each bottle of water purchased, Starbucks will contribute five cents to the Ethos Water Fund of the Starbucks Foundation.

Or just spread the word. Read about water issues at www.water.org or www.worldwaterday.net, and then share what you find with friends.

Get involved. Don't take the water you drink after a long workout for granted, because not everyone has that luxury.

Reach columnist Amy Korst at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.