Water--you ever really think about how much you use?

[Closeacademy]

Because of flooding we are under a boil water advisory and I had never really thought about how much we use. We use it all the time for everything. I am boiling water to do dishes, using bottled water to wash my potatoes and strawberries.

 

And don't get me started on all that handwashing. We boiled water and then put bleach in it as the newspaper told us to do. But it is disturbing just how dependent we are upon fresh water or an ability to make water safe.

 

Anyone else ever really think about water? We should have safe water again by Tuesday or Wednesday unless those storms on Monday and Tuesday are really bad again.

[jeri]

Last summer we got very low, so much that we were sucking up sand from the bottom every time we turned on the water! So, I know where our water goes! And at that point it went for drinking, cooking and very short showers! Toilets were on the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" concept and I did laundry at the laundromat. Hope we have plenty of rain this summer! Sorry to hear about having to boil water though! That must be a major pain!

 

jeri

[newbie]

We didnt think about it til last evacuation and we had boil water orders. I couldnt stand it so we stayed in our motorhome at a campsite in different town.

 

When it was lifted we went home.

 

Jeannette

[Tracey in TX]

We had a severe drought 2 years ago. It was an eye-opening experience to see just how much water a family of 8 uses.

[Karen sn]

When I lived in Alaska we lived for a spell in a place with no running water. We hauled it in 5 gallon jugs. That taught me to really appreciate a hot bath from a tap.

Another house up there had running water - a cistern and well in Summer, but the rest of the year we paid for it to be driven to our house. I want to say it was 3 cents a gallon......but I really can't remember. You do not waste water so much in Alaska unless you live in town.

 

Now we have a septic - very full - I am cautious of how much we flush and rinse down the drain via the kitchen sink and washer machine.

 

Can't imagine how much work it is to boil and sanitize water!

[Dayle in Guatemala]

we have to buy our drinking/cooking/cleaning produce water every week. Because of budgets, we allow ourselves 20 gal. a week for our family. We use it for everything but washing dishes, laundry, and showers. We have to limit those because in the dry season our cistern runs dry regularly if we aren't careful.

 

It was really different to go back to visit in the States and not have to think about it too much!:001_smile:

[newbie]

Guatemala is a big eye opener. I dont know how you do it.

 

Blessings,

Jeannette

[Doran]

It occurs to me how lucky I am to have access to clean, abundant water almost always. I am vacationing in a borrowed house which happens to be owned by people who are millionaires. The couple became friends with my parents years ago, before the Mister made his fortune, and thankfully, due to the excellent character of the host family (who are on a world tour as I type), their friendship with my parents remains. So, I am sitting in a multi-million dollar beach home, surrounded by extravagence, doing dishes for the twelve or so members of my family who have been enjoying this space for the past few days -- and it dawns on me how much water I'm running down the drain. I even mentioned it to my SIL. Suddenly, I feel guilty for not being more conservative. And, I think to myself that lack of water is going to become (nay, already IS in many places) the cause for the next world war.

 

Yeah. I think about it. But, I don't always act on my thoughts.

[Jill- OK]

Anyone else ever really think about water?

 

Yes, and I've even thought about it to the point that I'm somewhat uncomfortable watering ornamental plants. My step mom had the kids pot me some flowers, and after that I went ahead and got some more to put on my porch (after telling myself I wouldn't have any plants that couldn't live on our rainfall, lol), but I've put the watering can inside, and instructed the kids to fill it while waiting for the water to heat up for dishwashing/baths/etc. (so that we're not turning on the faucet/hose just to water flowers). I don't feel guilty watering my tomatoes and peppers, since they're food, but yes...I do think about how fortunate we are to have clean water to 'spend' on plants.

 

(That isn't to say I'm not ever going to turn on the hose and water the things...I'd just rather use 'found' water, if possible).

[5wolfcubs]

Some time ago I read about collecting the water while it is warming for the shower. I never acted on it until yesterday. Actually, I still haven't acted on the shower part. But I did put a little plastic 1/2 gallon sherbet bucket next to the sink. When I've rinsed my hands or dumped someone's water glass, I've put it in the bucket. I've also got cooling water from hard boiling eggs, plus the icy water the eggs are chilling in. All that water is going to water my sunflowers!

 

This thread and a book I'm reading called The Green Gardener's Guide by Joe Lamp'l have inspired me to stop being so wasteful here in the desert. :)

[Dayle in Guatemala]

Environmentalism is so important to me now. It never was before, I'm ashamed to say.:blush:

 

Living here and seeing how reckless the people here are with their beautiful environment has made me so thankful for people who have been conservative in our country. I about cry to see the rivers full of garbage and the beautiful volcanic lake contaminated with ecoli because of waste being dumped into it. It's something they've never been educated to take care of their country. They don't understand that because of their carelessness, they have disease, the land doesn't produce as much as it could, and their children are going hungry.

 

There is a movement with the children that is starting to take shape. I see a little bit of improvement, but, not as much as I would like or hope to see.

 

It makes me want to thank those who came up with those ad campaigns when I was growing up (the one with the crying Indian, remember that?) that brought to light what pollution and carelessness can do. I want to thank those who cared long before I ever did.:thumbup:

[Colleen in NS]

It makes me want to thank those who came up with those ad campaigns when I was growing up (the one with the crying Indian, remember that?) that brought to light what pollution and carelessness can do. I want to thank those who cared long before I ever did.:thumbup:

 

I remember that ad, it used to make me cry!

 

And, yup, we are thinking about water here. We are boiling drinking water right now (and to use for mixing up juice and powdered milk), while we figure out what to do about coliforms in our well. Just found out a couple of weeks ago. Plus, we had our full septic tank pumped today to the tune of $361.

 

I'm definitely thinking about water.

[Mekanamom]

Yes- CA just declared another drought.

 

We have water saving shower heads, just got a new front loader washing machine (saves over 65% of the water used in every load), all my ornamental plants are "drought resistant", my garden is planted in Earth Boxes (which save a LOT of water!!). I've also mulched a large area with crushed gravel and other ornamental rock... turned off the sprinklers to that area; looks pretty nice and also reduces dust!

 

Our toilets are pretty low flow. I'm weird enough to consider those composting toilets, but they are more expensive than we can afford at this time.

 

What I still need to do is get faucet aerators for the sinks, put some drip irrigation systems on timers, and give up washing the car.

 

We do have an in ground swimming pool... planning on keeping it going, too. It saves us money on our fire insurance and there are some ways to help reduce water loss... it's also a good water back up if we ever need it.

 

Other tips I have recently seen- by keeping the lawn grass at least 3" high it helps to keep the soil a bit moister than if the grass was cut any lower. If we could afford fake lawn I would do it in a minute! Darn expensive, though. :glare:

[newbie]

I did not know Ca. was in a drought. But, I am covered on the water saving ideas.

 

How does fake grass work with horses. We have been thinking about it to keep down brush. But if we got horses, would iteven work.

 

That also might help with squirrel and bunny, or would they eat through it.

 

Jeannette:bigear:

[Mekanamom]

I did not know Ca. was in a drought. But, I am covered on the water saving ideas.

 

How does fake grass work with horses. We have been thinking about it to keep down brush. But if we got horses, would iteven work.

 

That also might help with squirrel and bunny, or would they eat through it.

 

Jeannette:bigear:

 

Hmm- I haven't tried it, but I really doubt it is strong enough to hold up to horses. One of mine tore a huge chunk off of his stall mat, and that stuff is supposed to be nearly indestructible! I wouldn't even try it with my horses- if they somehow ripped it up and ate some of it, it could cause a terrible colic. (I have one horse who eats anything... I could almost guarantee he would find a way to rip it up and eat some, even though it's obviously not food.)

 

I use pea gravel in the high traffic areas for horses- it worked very well over the winter to keep the mud down, and it is comfortable for them to stand on. Mine don't wear shoes though, so I don't know if getting little bits of gravel stuck between the hoof and the shoe is an issue for shod horses.

 

I don't know how well pea gravel would keep down brush, though. A couple goats would probably keep it cleared out pretty well!!

 

That's a good question about burrowing animals chewing through it. I was under the impression that the fake grass barrier would hold up to them, but I'm not 100% sure. I would LOVE to eliminate the gopher holes and mole mounds in my lawn!!

[newbie]

Shel,

Thanks for scoopage. We have pea gravel on side yard and it is doing job. I guess we will have to invest in rest of yard. Which is three acres. Plus, I will try and remember not to get shoes on horses.

 

I have been looking for brush goats for months. No luck.

 

Thank you again,

Jeannette

[kokotg]

yes, I think about it a lot since last summer when everyone in Georgia started freaking out about running out of water. We've cut way back on our consumption, and we're down to averaging 2000 gallons/month for our family of 5 (although I'm sure it will be higher in summer. I don't water the lawn (weeds are remarkably drought-resistant ;)), but I do have a vegetable garden. And dirtier kids in summer who can't go as long without a bath!)

[kokotg]

and if this story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21494919/ from msnbc last fall is to be believed, 36 states will face water shortages within 5 years, so a lot more of us will be thinking about how much water we use before long.

[Tammyla]

I never really thought about it until we were under a boil order:w00t:. So, so much extra work. Now, I have quite a lot stored in the basement just in case. Hang in there:grouphug:.

 

Because of flooding we are under a boil water advisory and I had never really thought about how much we use. We use it all the time for everything. I am boiling water to do dishes, using bottled water to wash my potatoes and strawberries.

 

And don't get me started on all that handwashing. We boiled water and then put bleach in it as the newspaper told us to do. But it is disturbing just how dependent we are upon fresh water or an ability to make water safe.

 

Anyone else ever really think about water? We should have safe water again by Tuesday or Wednesday unless those storms on Monday and Tuesday are really bad again.

[RoughCollie]

I think about it a lot. I've got a stack of about 15 library books, titles garnered from Amazon.com, which are about turning my suburban lawn into a water-conserving wildlife habitat.

 

Now, I was never one for watering the lawn anyway, because I think it is a huge waste of money. But our town had no outdoor watering restrictions last summer and fall because to conserve water, and made arrangements to buy some from another town. That got me thinking that it is time to pay attention to water shortage issues.