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It’s been a familiar sight in the recent weeks of hot weather to see hosepipes in gardens, parched lawns and wilting flower beds needing water to grow and become lush. But the relative long spell of dry weather has meant that water shortages are being reported across the UK and Ireland with people being urged to conserve as much as possible.

The very necessity of all kinds of water in our everyday lives has led many of us, mainly in the developed world to undervalue it, we simply take it for granted in the daily ordinariness of turning on the tap and the shower, we forget that clean water remains the most precious resource we have. Our bodies cannot survive without it and we use it daily to cook and clean. Our lives would come to a halt if we didn’t enjoy the ease with which we have access to clean running water. You only realise the full impact of this when you visit or live in a country where words,` the water is off’ are shouted across homes on a daily basis. Yes, people adapt but the changing climate and growing population will only make this problem worse.

Charities tell us that one in nine people in the world do not have clean water close to home- what they have is polluted and disease ridden. We have all seen images of small, hungry children walking miles to get some clean drinking water, the unhygienic conditions in which so many of the worlds drought ridden millions live- abundance and scarcity go hand in hand.

The life giving force of this most precious resource also makes it the most sought after. As so many of the recent humanitarian crises have shown, conflicts between countries and communities can also be about rights to water or water wars as they have come to be known. Shirin Ibadi the Iranian Nobel laureate and human rights activist once said, ` I have said many times that I wish there were no oil in the middle east and more water. People would have been much happier than they are right now.’

And of course water is so central to the religious life for millions around the world. Bathing in rivers, holy water and baptisms, ablutions before prayers. Water purifies and symbolises God’s blessings. It is said that the Prophet once saw a man performing ablutions near a river who was using copious amounts. He rebuked him and advised that we should never waste water even if we are using it near a river bank. To encourage equitable distribution of water, to use it well is to respect all who have a right to it – not just those who live in our neighbourhoods but those who struggle thousands of miles away.

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