While we're hoping for rain to bail us out, most of us will be dealing with restrictions on the water we can use. So we'd like to see if there are any good ideas out there on ways to reduce water consumption and ease the strain on municipal supplies. Post any water-saving ideas you have here.
It is amazing that so much press is made about a midyear/ year to date shortfall of rain of @20% less than we would expect at this time. If you look at the past 12 months data, then we should all be concerned about too much rain and our resevoirs flooding over in the event of a large rainfall. By my rough calculations, we are 6.8" above normal for the past 12 months. By the way, is a 20% deviation in rainfall a standard deviation for our area? Perhaps a 20% deviation, above or below, is a normal and expected weather phenomena? My point is that before all the news media jumps on board and talks drought and water restrictions so that everyone must worry, pay fines, drive dirty cars, burn out their lawns, perhaps a more in depth look at the facts would be warranted. Guess it depends on the story we want to tell and the time frame and data we want to examine.
What planet are you on Jeff? If you don't think the drought is real, I suggest you take a dive into the water at Falls Lake!
probably doesnt believe global warming is occurring either, eh? WMD are in Iraq too! Jeesh.
not everyone who DOESN'T believe in Global Warming-ism is a "republican." http://www.plusaf.com/soapbox/globalwarming.htm
i approached the discussion from a scientific/engineering process and background and found the arguments to be severely wanting.
if you believe in Global Warming, you won't believe anything on that link, either. Guaranteed. In fact, you won't even read part, let alone all of it.
plusaf
Northwest Raleigh
27613
I shave using warm water. However, my water heater is on the opposite side of the house from my master bathroom, with a fair amount of cold water in the pipes in between.
Therefore, I turn the faucet to "hot" and use the initial cold water to brush my teeth. By the time I'm through brushing, the warm water I need for shaving has arrived. Of course, if the warm water arrives too early, I just turn the water off altogether. It's an admittedly small way not to waste the cold water in the pipes, but a small savings every day adds up. To reverse the order would be to double the waste: 1) let the cold pipe water go down the drain, 2) shave with warm water, 3) let the now warm pipe water go down the drain, 4) brush teeth with cold water.
You should ALWAYS turn off the water ANYWAY to shave or brush your teeth! It wastes 3-4 gallons of perfectly good water every time you brush or shave while leaving the water running! Come on, both of these are one-handed activites; use the free hand to turn the faucet on and off only when you need it, to wet the toothbrush/razor.
It is selfish and wasteful, and most of all, unnecessary, to leave the water running while shaving or toothbrushing, and it can save almost 100 gallons a month per person to stop doing it.
We fill buckets in our bath when we are running water to heat up the water in the shower. This water is used to water plants both inside and out. We only take showers-no baths; turn off water when brushing teeth and soaping up; since there are only two of us, we only run dishwasher every other day. We use the standard sink dishwashing used in arrid countries like Lebanon which is filling up a bowl rather than the sink to handwash our dishes. Everyone can do something!
For those of us who live in older homes and still rely on window unit ACs: I've recently placed my watering can underneath to catch the steady drip of condensation on these and recent unseasonably warm days. In a few days time, my can is filled and a good week of warm weather yields a bucket full of clean water! The water hadn't been conserved in the past, so I had a slight reservation thinking the water might not be safe for the plants, but I looked a few days later and my potted marigolds are newly sprouting, fresh and bright! It takes a little patience but proves very practical. It's surprising the amount you can actually collect. Today I'll use the water to mop the floors!
I have found that if one really tries to save on something, whether it's pennies or water usage, the results can be very impressive over time. That time-frame can be reduced to moments if EVERYONE PITCHES IN AND DOES THE SAME. For example, I take a shower by wetting myself, turn off the water while lathering, then turn it back on to rinse. In addition, I place a pan in the shower floor to collect the graywater and use that water for watering my thirsty hydrangeas. They don't seem to mind the soapy water at all. Results....much less water going down the drain.
I also have been saving the water that comes out at my kitchen sink as I await the hot water. I use this for my coffee pot. Zero waste. I also use this cooler water prior to it getting hot for brushing my teeth. Any use of the water as you wait for it to get hot can be considered as water saved. Daily, many gallons of water are wasted as people run their faucets waiting for it to get hot.
I don't flush the toilet every time I pee in it. Of coarse, I will flush it if I am going to leave the house for any period of time. As long as it's only urine, several users can combine their trips to one flush every so often. And to add to my savings, I will be placing a brick in the toilet's water tank today. If everyone puts a brick in their toilet tank who lives in the Raleigh area, let's do the math and estimate the savings... One brick (my guess) would equal to about one quart of liquid volume. For 700,000 people flushing a toilet four times a day (saving a total of one gallon of water each person daily), that comes to 700,000 gallons of less water used county-wide every day. In one week that would total almost 5 million gallons of water saved. In one month, that would be a savings of 21 million gallons! Now this is subject to Wake County's official population and the actual liquid volume that one brick would equal to. N & O, am I right on these two items??? Please correct me if I am wrong.
Sure, just you alone saving a little water every day does not impress the lake levels much. But make it everyone's habit, then you will see a huge reduction in usage immediately. We have power in numbers. Great powers at that.
Just imagine that every drop of water is a penny. Save like it's all you got. If we all do this, then it would be like pouring thousands upon thousands of buckets of water - not pennies - back into Jordan and Falls Lakes. Oh...by the way...those (pennies) WOULD actually stay in your pocket too when you pay your next month's water bill. Does that not double our savings????
Enough said. My goal here is to hopefully open your eyes up to our ability to really make a BIG difference in conserving our most valuable resource...water. The possibility is there, but it will take teamwork to make a difference. Won't you do your share before the lakes run dry? Better safe (I mean save) than sorry!
Rain Barrels
A Rain Barrel of 55 Gal takes no time to fill with a light shower, or just seconds from a full heavy rain, but works like hundreds of water from the tap beacause of no chlorine. Tha added bio from the air also helps plants. Cicterns do the same thing, but are much bigger and more complex and expencive.
Letting the grass grow taller gives it deeper roots, so the grass will stay greener with less water.