Q about water consumption

[Tap]

I am sitting here watching dd3 take a bath. She love to play with the shower head (the removable one on a hose) in the bath. She has sensory and behavior issues so I usually let her linger in the bath because it really calms her down.

 

But, as she essentially wastes gallons of water playing, I sit her wondering about water, its consumption and the chemicals used to purify it.

 

We live in the PNW so we don't usually have water supply issues. I know it would be different if we lived in an area that has a limited supply.

 

SO, here is my question. Even if we live in an area that has no water restrictions, should we work to conserve water. If water is not diverted to household use, it will eventually end up in the ocean. If water is diverted for household use, it will end up in the ocean. Both senerios have the same end result.

 

I realize that water being accesible by plants and wild life is important, but as long as there is enough flowing to maintain current rivers, dose it matter if it has the 'extra capacity' of water that is now being diverted for the short distance between the access point and man made return point of the water? Does it make a difference if the water is put into the sewer system or released in a yard? Is it better to water a lawn, and thus have the water return to a water table more rapidly than to go in the sewer? Is it better to let her play in the hose outside instead of the bath?

 

Another question I have is, what happens to the chemicals that are used to purify the water? Are the oceans filling up with these chemicals or do they disipate in the environment? Are there detectible changes in the environment where the treated water returns to th environment, compared to a natural stream that presumably has untreated water running through it?

 

 

What do you think?

[RoughCollie]

Bump

[Peela]

It is an issue I have definitely thought about. I keep hearing "water will be the new oil" in a few years, and wars will be fought over accessibility to water.

 

A few things- industry uses far more water that domestic use, and it wastes a lot too. Relatively, I am not too concerned about domestic use. e have water restrictions here but they are not too bad.

There IS plenty of water for everybody. We are just so unwise about how we manage it.

Here in Australia. absolutely huge amounts of water run off every year up north in the topics every wet season. Governments frequently consider piping the water down to the southern states- but it is never economically feasible for that particular government, even though it is a long term solution which would take care of future generations. How bad does it have to get before we do something about it?

Here in my city there are articles in the paper about the salinity problems in our water supply, because they keep pumping water from under the ground. Now, its pretty inevitable that if you keep draining the underground water, it will have to drain back in from some where- and salt is a huge problem n Australia. SO, since they kow about it now, what will they do about it? Probably not much for a long time.

 

We keep poisoning our rivers and lakes, and the ocean. We dont treat our water with respect. We abuse it. Yes, treated water is pumped into our rivers and oceans, and yes it has chemicals in it. And, frequently around here, the pumping staions fail and raw seweage is pumped into the river where we like to swim. I mean, where is the back up system?

 

Overall...I don't waste water but I am not stingy about it either. I water my gardens, I have my bath, and I let my kids play in it. We have a swimming pool. I have spent time in 3rd world countries and I am grateful for the relatively clean water that comes out of our taps. I dont drink it- I filter- but I could if I had to.

 

I think the water issues is probably going to be huge. Governments need to think ahead for future generations and make long term decisions. In the meantime, I use it fairly freely, without going overboard.

[Melissa in Australia]

We have tank water that we collect from the roof of the house(common in Australia). we have only a limited amount of water, it is not treated at all. my younger children have a bath in 2inches of water. my older children have a shower under 4 minutes. our water pressure is very low, we have gravity water pressure. so the water is just faster than a trickle. it helps us to use less.

We have never run out of water. even in dry years. we just use less when the weather is dry , and more when the tanks overflow.

[Carrie12345]

I have a well and septic. I'm not terribly concerned about my family's personal usage, but I also hate waste. We take standard measures - faucet off while brushing teeth, 5 minute(ish) showers, no fancy landscaping etc. But we also run a sprinkler for the kids once in a while.

 

If my well were to go dry, it would be a problem. If my septic were to malfunction, it would be a problem. But those can be fixed. What I worry about most is well contamination due to overbuilding in my area. It is becoming an issue in our area, and I don't understand how zoning/regulations allow for that.

[Jane in NC]

Have you seen the April edition of National Geographic which focuses on the theme of water? Some of your questions may be answered within that issue.

 

Jane

[ConnieB]

How about letting your daughter use cups to pour water over her head? Would that give her the same sensory satisfaction? My kids loved to dump water on themselves at that age, and while it tends to mean a little more clean up for mom as ALL the water never quite makes it back into the tub, what's a few extra towels to hang outside to dry?

 

Or....back when we lived in an area with serious drought issues, we would put buckets in the shower with us to catch a great deal of the water and then take the buckets out and water the lawn/flowers, etc. Reclaimed water in it's earliest form, lol. Perhaps you can do that so that your guilt is less?

 

Or....since it's getting warm enough, how about letting her play in the yard with the hose or a sprinkler, watering the lawn while wetting her down? Then bring her into the shower with you for a brief soap down/rinse session.

[nono]

My kids sometimes like to get a bath in the "big tub" which takes way more water than the small tub or obviously a shower. I let them, but I tell them that the next few cleanings will be in the small tub or shower because they just used a "lot of water."

 

They don't seem to have any issue with it, and it has made them aware on a general level about conservation and wastefulness.

 

On the issue of water quality, every municipality is different. We have a whole house filtration system because of our iffy water stats.

[Dandelion]

We also have our own well and septic. When we bought this house 10 years ago we were told by the well inspector that we had a "100 year water supply". The water is not treated.

 

Both my kids LOVE to play with water, they take a bath every evening (but I just start DD 10 minutes before DS, and use the same water), I take a good length shower every morning, and we do have a garden (no fancy landscaping, but it does need to be watered every day during the summer months).

 

As others have noted, we're not stingy with our water use but we don't waste it either. I'm not concerned about our personal water supply here, but do have some concerns about the overall availability of water as I've heard the "water will be the new oil" line as well...