Even the smallest daily activity, like brushing one's teeth, requires a trip to the tank, where people pay a large portion of their meager salaries for containers of cloudy,brackish water.
VOA: standard.2010.08.04
This idea is rooted in the peasant habit of swilling the mouth out with green tea, instead of brushingtheteeth.
Consumers can reduce the amount of water through direct action - by applying a water-saving showerhead, shutting off the tap during teethbrushing, by not disposing of medicines, paints or other pollutants down the sink etc.