I think most people in the United States take fresh water for granted. It’s readily available in every building, it’s clean and it can be used pretty much without restriction, from taking a long shower to washing clothes to hosing down the sidewalk or just letting it run down the drain while we brush our teeth or turn away from the faucet in the kitchen. Not to mention using a whole toilet-tank full of water to flush away a few ounces of pee (yes, I said pee). Americans use a lot of water and they don’t really pay much attention to conserving it. I believe that, like thoughtless use of fuel and energy, thoughtless use of water is not sustainable and is going to need to stop sooner rather than later.
I don’t pretend to understand all the complexities of water use, water distribution and water conservation, but it seems to me that there are some easy ways to use less water. I limit my water usage by turning off the sink when I’m brushing my teeth, only running the dishwasher (yikes, what a luxury a dishwasher actually is!) when there’s a full load, only doing full loads of laundry, sweeping the sidewalk instead of hosing it (I run the hose sparingly when someone lets their dog pee all over the front sidewalk) and only flushing the toilet once in the morning even if there have been multiple trips to the bathroom at night. Flushing the toilet less saves a ton of water so I do this during the day when I’m home alone or with someone who’s also comfortable with this.
Taking showers together with someone else is a great way to use less water (I happen to think it’s also enjoyable!). Using a single bucket of water and a brush to clean things (like cars) saves a lot of water over using a running hose.
Some larger-scale water saving ideas include rooftop rainwater collection, gray water reclaimation and landscaping that uses low-water plants instead of water-wasteful grass lawns (personally I find that varied plantings look so much better than lawns anyway!).
I’ve written about saving water before, in the context of “dual flush toilets” that save water by using different amounts to flush “number one” and “number two” (I use the word “pee” there too!).
What prompted me to write this was coming across the WATER Institute (Watershed Advocacy, Training, Education, & Research) and their publication “Basins Of Relations: A Citizen’s Guide to Protecting and Restoring Our Watersheds.”
Their organization is dedicated to educating the public about water use and about how important the overall health of watersheds is to communities:
Continue reading Water conservation and the WATER Institute
