Water Conservation: Garden Water Savings

By Phil The Gardener

Each of us should do our part to save water. Water is a necessary element in the sustenance of life. It becomes a strong issue in areas where there isn’t enough clean and sanitary water for people to drink. You have to admit we take a lot for granted.

As the days get shorter and they are not as intense we don’t have the evaporation by the sun like we did during the long hot summer days. Plants don’t require as much water to stay healthy.

Take a look around you as you drive through your neighborhood, and you’ll see how your neighbors do their part to conserve water. Some do real well, others never change their sprinkler timer from the time it was installed.

Your lawn and plants require less water in cooler temperatures so your sprinkler timer should be adjusted accordingly to save you lots of dollars on your water bill, especially if you have a meter.

With good soil preparation around your plants and regulating the amount of water you apply, your plants can be trained to put out more roots this will encourage them to flourish with less water.

Cities around the country that are located in areas that don’t get enough water for your plants to live without irrigation enforce water restrictions to conserve this necessary resource.

Check with your local water district to see what days you are allowed to water at your address. The schedules are generally odd and even days with the odd-numbered addresses taking one side of the street and the even-numbered addresses take the other.

Adjust your sprinkler timer for the correct watering days for your side of the street. Make adjustments to the amount of time each zone is allowed to water depending on the type of plant material you are applying water to.

Another way to reduce your water usage is to just walk around your yard and identify the areas where there is being too much water applied by your sprinklers. Make the necessary adjustments by changing the nozzle or repairing broken heads.  Hand water dry spots for new plantings instead of running that zone will save water.

Water Down The Drain

By Crhis Olson, To Inspire and Mobilize

A major aspect of my Lutheran Volunteer Corps year deals with forming intentional community around the three tenets of Social Justice, Sustainability, and Community. One of the issues that our house as been talking about is water conservation, specifically around our dishwasher. We didn’t expect to have many amenities in our house since so much of the LVC experience is about simplified living, but were surprised to find a well furnished home when we arrived (thanks to the generous folks at Ballard First Lutheran next door and the keenly honed rummaging skills of past LVC house dwellers). Dishwasher use immediately became one of our topics of conversation. Some of us saw the community value in chatting around the sink while doing the dishes. I have had wonderfully rich conversations with past roommates while holding a sponge in one hand and a dirty plate in the other. My other housemates were pushing for filling the dishwasher and spending community time doing other things, getting the dishes out the way and moving on with the night. Ultimately the decision came down to the LVC tenet of sustainability, would we save more water using our dishwasher or washing our dishes by hand? We all thought we knew the answer, but each housemate had a different idea with a different logic behind it and all of them made sense in one way or another. I started to do some research on the subject and found a few articles and studies that compared dishwashers vs hand washing.

Here is a summary of what I found:

The first dishwasher was created in 1850 and consisted of a wooden box with a hand-cranked wheel that splashed water onto the dirty dishes (HA!). Since the mid 1800’s, dishwasher technology has evolved and throughout the latter half of the 20th century grew in popularity. According to a study done by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the two main problems with dishwashers stem from energy and water efficiency. The authors of the study write, “The implementation of energy standards for appliances by the U.S. Department of Energy established new benchmarks for energy and water efficiency. A significant proportion of the energy savings for today’s automatic dishwashers comes from the reduction in hot water use. Because energy is used to heat water, less water use by a dishwasher also means reduced energy use. In 1978, 83% of a dishwasher’s energy use went to heating water, with 10% used for washing and 7% for drying (Enders, 1978). By 1994, only 56% of the energy used by the dishwasher was to heat water (Whirlpool Corporation, 1993). A significant reduction in water usage resulted from designing more efficient wash systems that incorporate direct water delivery and improved soil-handling systems (Dzierwa, 1994). The average water use per dishwasher cycle decreased from a range of 11-15 gallons per normal cycle in 1978 (Garrett, 1978) to 6-10 gallons per normal cycle in 2000 (Soap and Detergent Association [SDA], 2000).”

The dishwasher has become a more viable option in recent years, especially when compared with recent studies on hand washing dishes. “Scientists at the University of Bonn [pdf] in Germany who studied the issue found that the dishwasher uses only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap than hand-washing an identical set of dirty dishes. Even the most sparing and careful washers could not beat the modern dishwasher.”

However, even when using a dishwasher some people still wash-by-hand to a certain extent. This has direct consequences on water conservation. “One consumer decision that greatly affects water and energy usage during dish washing is rinsing the dishes before washing them in the dishwasher. If dishes are pre-rinsed using a dishwasher pre-rinse cycle, approximately one gallon of water is used. Pre-rinsing in the sink under running water, however, uses up to 25 gallons of water for 5 minutes of pre-rinsing–a substantial difference. In the study discussed here, 93% did some pre-rinsing of dishes in the sink, and 48% rinsed five or more times per week. With the estimated water use of up to 25 gallons per meal, this practice represents a substantial use of water and energy.”

So, dishwashers seem to be the better choice as long as you have a recent model and stay away from pre-washing your own dishes. My LVC house is still working out the details on our simplicity strategy, but its nice to have a little back ground to base our decision on. I’m placing two of the article links at the bottom of the blog and the other research paper has a link if you click within the text on the “University of Bonn”.

In The Interest of Fresh Water Conservation

By Phil’s Green Room

Here’s an article that appeared in the New York Times today regarding a ban on diverting water from the Great Lakes. I certainly believe that the fresh water issue is imminent, and the discussion in Congress certainly supports that contention.

Bart Stupak has taken the position that the ban doesn’t go far enough leaving loopholes that do not bode well for the future:

(From the NYTimes article by Susan Saulny) “Because these concerns remain unaddressed,” Mr. Stupak said in a statement, “I regret that I have to urge my colleagues to join me in opposing the compact until proper protections are put in place.”

“I see no reason why we must rush this process when our nation’s most precious natural resource is at stake,” said Mr. Stupak, whose district borders three of the lakes, calling the bottled-water exemption a loophole that could be used for large-scale diversion, exactly what the compact seeks to prevent.”

Sounding the Alarm Bell on Water

By: La Marguerite

I know, I know, the economy and partisan politics have taken over our conversations, leaving little room for anything else, let alone problems that are still removed from the reality of our lives. Huge global issues such as the water crisis. A chance business meeting with a friend, about to launch a new water efficiency venture, got me thinking about water. Just as with deforestation, and biodiversity loss, I am shocked by the magnitude of the problem, and the corresponding relative inaction to curb it.

The water crisis raises some critical questions about water economics, water ethics, water technology, water efficiency, water conservation, water waste, water inequities, water rights, water laws, water politics, water awareness . . . all of which need to be addressed at the various appropriate levels.

As with other global environmental issues, it is easy to feel lost as an individual citizen. Yet, there is lots one can do to favorably impact the situation:

* boycott bottled water
* conserve water at home, and other places
* blog about it, and also comment on other blogs
* support watchdog organizations such as Food and Water Watch
* support legislation to encourage water conservation and efficiency
* share problem and possible solutions with friends

You may also want to go see “Flow”, Irena Salina’s recently released documentary on water.

More Canadians limit water and energy usage

OTTAWA - Canadians are saving water both coming and going, from top to bottom, and from east to west.

The proportion of Canadian households using reduced-volume toilets more than doubled to 37 per cent from 15 per cent between 1994 and 2006, while the percentage with a low-flow shower head rose to 57 per cent from 44 per cent, according to one of two environmental reports Thursday from Statistics Canada.

“Households in Eastern Canada were more likely to use low-flow shower heads while those in Ontario and the West were more likely to use reduced-volume toilets,” it said, adding, however that Ontario led the way in the use of both.

Meanwhile, more Canadian households are also turning to programmable thermostats to cut back on their energy use, according to the other analysis.

In 2006, 40 per cent of households with a thermostat had a programmable one, up from just 16 per cent in 1994, it said. Of those with a programmed thermostat, 68 per cent were programmed during the heating season to lower the temperature while they slept while only 46 per cent of households with an unprogrammed or non-programmable thermostat turned down the heat overnight.

Programmable thermostats, though they’ve been in existence for about 100 years, have only become popular over the past decade, Gordon Dewis, author of the report, Thermostat Use in Canadian Homes, noted in an interview.

While rising energy costs are clearly a factor behind some of the heat and water conservation efforts of Canadians, the report suggests saving money isn’t the only consideration.

“Among households with thermostats, the likelihood that the temperature was lowered when the household members were asleep increased as the total annual income increased,” observed the report on thermostat use.

“Higher income, home ownership and living in a single-detached dwelling were . . . associated with greater use of water-saving fixtures,” echoed another report.

Read full article

Source: Canada.com

For more information about water conservation, visit Nuprana.com’s LEARN section

Water conservation starts with you

Del Mar City, CA-New clean water service fees enacted by the Del Mar City Council and approved by residents through a mail ballot, contain an interesting new charge. Besides a flat service charge, for the first time the city is adding a monthly charge based on volume of water usage. At their meeting last week, City Council members also began the process of updating city codes to allow for water rationing.

Welcome to the California drought.

Expect moves like Del Mar’s to become increasingly more common with harsher restrictions to follow in many areas.

Cities have begun considering a drought conservation program that instills levels of severity in regard to water usage. Level One would simply encourage voluntary conservation, Level Two would require a reduction in consumption by as much as 20 percent and Level Three would put a moratorium on new development by not allowing new water meters. Level Four? Start collecting your buckets.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has already declared a water shortage emergency in the city and has threatened mandatory conservation this winter if conditions worsen. In Northern California, the source of the majority of our water, things are getting increasingly more difficult with limits on water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the creation of the state’s first water bank in 16 years. The bank would allow for more water to be piped to Southern California areas experiencing extreme water shortages - but at a price besides funds. Buyers would be required to drastically cut normal usage by their residents and businesses.

Read full article

Source: Del Mar Times

For more information about water conservation, visit Nuprana.com’s LEARN section

Make water conservation a goal for all

Getting the Great Lakes Compact through Congress represents a huge achievement for the eight states that, along with two Canadian provinces, share this stunning basin formed by five massive bodies of freshwater. The pact, designed to fend off wholesale export of water, greatly improves the defense of the lakes.

The compact should signal, as well, greater communication and ongoing efforts among the states to monitor and conserve their assets. Because every state legislature had to approve the compact before its passage last month in the U.S. Senate and Tuesday in the U.S. House, lawmakers in all the states should be invested in making sure that water is not only preserved but restored and maintained to the highest possible quality.

That surely is the goal of the many people who led the effort, and deserve thanks, starting with the Great Lakes Council of Governors. The state executives were helped by the coordinated effort of congressional delegations from Michigan and the other Great Lakes states, and supported by numerous groups and coalitions that love and depend on the lakes.

Read full article

Source: FREEP

For more information about water conservation, visit Nuprana.com’s LEARN section

U.S. Congress Approves Great Lakes Compact

New York Environmental Groups Applaud D.C. for Protecting Great Lakes, Urge President Bush to Swiftly Sign Landmark Law

ALBANY, NY (09/23/2008; 1230)(readMedia)– Environmental groups across New York State applauded the U.S. Congress today for protecting the integrity of the Great Lakes by passing the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. With growing threats to export water from the Great Lakes Basin and mounting evidence of the effects of global climate change, the Compact now awaits President Bush’s signature. The measure passed by a vote of 390 to 25.

The Compact was signed into law by New York’s Governor Paterson earlier this year, as along with the remaining seven Great Lakes States. The United States Senate passed the Compact unanimously in August.

Designed to shield the Great Lakes from harmful water withdrawals, the Compact institutes critical protections for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River ecosystem. It would protect the Great Lakes from harm by implementing an effective water management plan and promote water conservation measures throughout the Basin.

“Truly a consensus document, the Compact is the landmark framework to ensure sustainable Great Lakes water management for generations to come,” said Dereth Glance, Executive Program Director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

“New York’s congressional delegation brought home a huge victory for the St. Lawrence River, Lakes Ontario and Erie, and the three million New Yorkers who rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water,” said Katherine Nadeau Water & Natural Resources Program Associates for Environmental Advocates of New York. “The Compact guarantees New York’s voice in Great Lakes water use decisions and ensures fair and responsible management for this irreplaceable natural resource.”

The Great Lakes are the world’s single largest source of surface freshwater, representing 95 percent of the fresh surface water of the United States. The lakes are critical for New York, providing drinking water for millions of people in the region, numerous industrial and agricultural uses, navigation, hydroelectric power and energy production, recreation and tourism, and important fish and wildlife habitat.

“When hope appeared lost, the people, elected officials, and businesses of our region united around the Great Lakes and got the job done,” said Marc Smith, Great Lakes States Program Manager with National Wildlife Federation. “Critical to this effort were the eight Great Lakes governors and the more than 1,300 state legislators who voted for the Compact. Congress has now followed suit. President Bush has already expressed his support and we look forward to his signing the Compact into law.”

“The Great Lakes Compact is a great victory for New York and the entire region,” said Roger Downs, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter Conservation Associate. “The Compact will help prepare the region for climate change and ensures that New York’s Great Lakes will be available for the use and enjoyment of future generations.”

“The Great Lakes are Western New York’s most important natural asset,” said Julie Barnett O’Neill, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. “This agreement will foster the water conservation and diversion protection needed to protect our amazing fresh water seas for generations to come.”

“We are thrilled that Congress has acted swiftly to pass the Compact,” said Jennifer J. Caddick, Save The River Executive Director. “The St. Lawrence River is the lifeblood of our local communities and this legislation will protect one of the North Country’s most important resources.”

Although seemingly abundant, less than one percent of the Great Lakes water is renewed each year, leaving them vulnerable to depletion. The lakes’ fragile ecology has suffered from pollution, invasive species, and the water diversions to support cities. With growing concerns about the loss of these natural resources, Congress’ approval of the Compact couldn’t be timelier. Environmental groups applaud the actions of Congress, and urge President Bush to continue to protect the Great Lakes.

Source: ReadMedia Newswire

For more information about water conservation, visit Nuprana.com’s LEARN section

Tucson, AZ slips in ranking of sustainability because of water supply, use issues

Tucson got a little less environmentally sustainable during the past two years compared with other major metro areas, a new national survey has concluded.

In part, that’s because the national SustainLane rankings of the 50 largest cities added a new category this year — water supply — in which this and most other arid Southwestern cities ranked poorly.

The drop in the SustainLane rating of Tucson from 20th to 22nd on the new survey wasn’t a total knock at this city, however, since Tucson still ranks in the top half of the 50 cities in the survey. Tucson scored better than average in 10 of the 16 categories surveyed, including air quality, green building practices, environmental innovations and use of local food and agriculture. Portland, Ore., ranked first overall for sustainability among the 50 cities, according to the report. Phoenix ranked lower than Tucson overall at 32nd.

But on water, Tucson ranked 47th worst out of 50 cities. It ranked low for being too far from its principal long-term water source, for not being as aggressive as many other cities in its water-conservation policies and for its rapid growth in an arid environment.

“Your originating source of much of your water is the Colorado River . . . one of the farthest away of any of the cities ranked from their water supply,” said James Elsen, SustainLane’s CEO. “It’s dependent on snowpack, which is declining. That puts you at great risk. You are like at the end of the pipe.”

Read full article

Source: Arizona Daily Star

For more information about water conservation, visit Nuprana.com’s LEARN section

Nuprana.com becomes first water conservation store to offer free shipping on every product

Nuprana.com, the first online water conservation resource that provides information, products, news, and advocacy recommendations all in one place, is now the first one to offer FREE SHIPPING on every product in its online water conservation store.

September 16, 2008 — Online sales are growing at a faster pace every day, especially among environmentally conscious shoppers who are realizing that shopping at online stores has a much lower carbon footprint than driving to a 300,000 square foot ‘energy guzzling, garbage producing’ superstore or worse, having to drive to several stores in one day to find what they need.  Some shoppers continue to drive to do their shopping because of increasing shipping costs at online stores, due to the infamous “fuel surcharge” that carriers are now including in their rates. This additional surcharge often represents 20-30% of the total shipping rate which takes the final price tag way above what shoppers are comfortable paying.

Now Nuprana.com makes it easy for green homes and businesses to shop for water conservation products without the hassle of driving all over town or spending hours online searching for what you need and then paying high shipping costs. At Nuprana.com every single item offers free shipping without a minimum amount or minimum quantity of items.  For example, you can buy the smallest item in the store– the ‘Toilet Leak Detection Tablets’ for $1.99– and it offers free shipping.

“We are trying to eliminate all of the barriers that keep American households from saving more water and protecting our environment” explains Elizabeth Beachy, co-founder of Nuprana and an expert in Behavior Change Communication related to Public Health issues. “We know our costs will increase because of this decision, but we want our clients to make their decisions based not on how much the shipping costs, but on how much water they want to save” added Mrs. Beachy.

About Nuprana.com:

Nuprana LLC is a family-owned, on-line green business dedicated to water conservation that offers affordable, user-friendly water conservation products for green homes and businesses, in addition to water conservation information, news and advocacy recommendations. It was founded by Elizabeth Beachy and Osvaldo Gomez with the vision of conscious water use, cleaner waterways, safe drinking water, and pristine freshwater sources preserved and revered for their natural beauty. The couple resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They started Nuprana after the birth of their son inspired them to help improve the world awaiting his generation.

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