Pennsylvania Town Requests Voluntary Water Conservation

DUBOIS – Mayor John “Herm” Suplizio is asking City of DuBois residents to voluntarily conserve water, he announced at yesterday’s city council meeting. Mayor Suplizio called on residents to eliminate unnecessary water usage in order to maintain the city’s water supply. Water levels are currently down at the city’s reservoir.”We’re not at a mandatory level yet, but we’re not far away from it,” said Mr. Suplizio. “If people don’t have to wash their cars, it would be nice of them not to. Just little things … if you don’t have to hose down your garage, things like that.”

Source: The Progress

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.

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Source: Canada.com

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.

Palestine: Israeli water policies leave West Bank dry

Per capita water consumption in Palestine is far below the minimum recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The chronic water shortage in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, resulting from an unfair distribution of water resources shared by the Palestinians and Israel, will be much graver this summer because of this year’s drought.

In the northern West Bank, water consumption has fallen to one-third of the minimal amount needed.

The 2008 drought, the most serious in the area in the past decade, aggravates the built-in, constant shortage of water in the West Bank. Rainfall this year in the northern West Bank was 64% of the average, while in the southern sections, it was 55%.

As a result, the water stored from rainfall has already been used. The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) estimates this year’s water shortage in the West Bank at 42 to 69 million cubic metres. The total water consumption in the West Bank is 79 mcm.

The PWA has already requested Mekorot — the Israel Water Company — for an emergency supply of eight mcm.

According to the WHO, the per capita minimal amount of water needed for household and urban needs is 100 litres a day. Due to the chronic water shortage, water consumption in the northern West Bank has dropped to one-third this amount.

In Tubas, per capita consumption is 30 litres; in Jenin, it is 38 litres. In Nablus and the Southern Hebron Hills, the figure is slightly higher than 50 litres a day.

Average per capita consumption throughout the West Bank is 66 litres, two-thirds of the minimal amount needed according to the WHO. These figures include water for livestock, meaning that the water consumed for personal use is even less.

In comparison, average daily water consumption in Israeli cities is 235 litres, and 214 litres in local councils, 3.5 times higher than Palestinian consumption in the West Bank.

A total of 227,500 Palestinians in 220 towns and villages in the West Bank are not connected to a water network at all, 75% of them in the northern West Bank. Another 190,000 Palestinians live in villages that are only partially connected to a water network.

Some 20% of Palestinians in the West Bank are not connected to a water network.

Even in Palestinian towns and villages that have a water network, water supply is not regular most of the year. Water is supplied only some hours of the day, and sometimes on a rotational basis. In distant areas, water supply may be disconnected for days or weeks.

Residents of communities with water networks hooked up to Mekorot report that the company discriminates against them, reducing water supply to Palestinian residents to enable it to meet the increased demand in the Israeli settlements.

Lacking regular water supply, many Palestinians have to buy water on the private market. Last year, the price for a cubic metre of water ranged from 15-30 shekels, three to six times higher than Israeli households pay.

It is expected that prices will be even higher this year. The high rate of unemployment and poverty in the West Bank has made water purchases an economic burden for a substantial portion of the population.

Israel holds complete control of the water sources shared by Israel and the Palestinians, primarily the Mountain Aquifer, and prohibits by army order any Palestinian drilling of wells without a permit. At the same time, Israel draws from the West Bank some 44 mcm — five million more than it supplies to the Palestinian Authority.

Israel allocates to Palestinians only 20% of the water from the Mountain Aquifer, and prevents the PWA from developing additional sources to enable greater water supply for Palestinians in the West Bank.

As the occupying power, Israel is required under international law to ensure public order and safety in the occupied territory, without discrimination. In addition, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Israel ratified, ensures access to clean drinking water without discrimination.

International human rights law also ensures the Palestinians’ right to utilise and enjoy freely their natural resources.

B’Tselem calls on the government of Israel to ensure, immediately and without discrimination, adequate, regular water supply to all residents of the West Bank. B’Tselem also urges the government to allow the Palestinian Authority to develop new water sources.

Source: Green Left Online

For more information about water conservation, visit our LEARN section

“Empower Your Shower” Program Has 30,000 Participants Saving Water and Energy in Western Washington

BELLEVUE, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Puget Sound Energy announced today that the multi-utility “Empower Your Shower” program launched in July has already provided free showerheads and faucet aerators to 30,000 participants in Western Washington. The program will continue to be available to customers of all participating utilities – PSE, Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD), Tacoma Public Utilities and Cascade Natural Gas – through the end of the month.

Sandy and Mike Anderson, a SeaTac-based couple are one of the many thousands of households who called the “Empower Your Shower” hotline for a free efficient showerhead, which is designed to use up to 20 percent less water than standard types. “It’s easy to install,” said the Andersons, who are PSE natural gas and electric customers. “The faucet aerator that came with the showerhead saves us a lot of water too.”

Using less water also means using less electricity or natural gas to heat it–the second largest use of household energy–and the showerheads can cut the energy needed to heat showers by as much as 20 percent. The “Empower Your Shower” program also includes tips to reduce the use of water and other resources, such as taking five minute showers, and limiting lawn watering to 1 inch per week. Customers can expect to see a drop in their power bill when making these efforts to conserve both water and energy. To get the showerhead and aerator kit, customers of the four utilities can visit www.showerheadprogram.com or call 1-888-404-8773.

“Even a 10 percent reduction in water use can have an impressive cumulative effect,” said Cal Shirley, vice president of Energy Efficiency Services for PSE. If the average household typically uses 100 gallons of water per person each day and lowers that by 10 percent, they would save 300 gallons per month for each person in the house. Multiplied by the number of people who’ve already participated in the “Empower Your Shower” program, that’s a savings of 18 million gallons of water region-wide since the program launched in July.

“We want to get as many people involved as we can,” said Shirley. “This multi-utility effort gives customers an easy and effective way to live greener, smarter, and save money on their energy bills.”

If each of the 871,950 households within the combined service areas of the four participating utilities reduced water use by 15-20 gallons per household each day, it would result in a region-wide savings of 500 million gallons of water – enough to fill 750 Olympic-size swimming pools – in one month alone.

About Puget Sound Energy

Washington state’s oldest and largest energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile service area stretching across 11 counties, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) serves more than 1 million electric customers and 737,000 natural gas customers. PSE, a subsidiary of Puget Energy (NYSE:PSD), meets the energy needs of its growing customer base primarily in Western Washington through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service to deliver energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably priced, and environmentally responsible. For more information, visit www.PSE.com.

City of Folsom restricts water use

SACRAMENTO, CA-The city of Folsom today ordered mandatory water conservation in response to declining supplies behind Folsom Dam, the city’s only source of water.

Starting Sept. 5, homeowners and business will be allowed to irrigate landscaping only on alternate days, never on Mondays and never between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Also, restaurants may serve water only on request.

The Stage 2 drought restrictions are believed to be the most drastic adopted so far in the Sacramento metro area. The region usually enjoys ample supplies but has begun to feel the pinch of a second dry year like the rest of California.

Folsom City Manager Kerry Miller said the call for mandatory conservation is necessary because customers have not responded to a voluntary conservation order that has been in place for months. The city also recently learned that it will lose access to an extra pool of water in Folsom Lake that is sometimes available.

“We’re hoping the community will respond,” he said.

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Source: The Mercury News

For more information on water conservation, visit www.nuprana.com

Water Calculator Shows Your Water Footprint

The H2O Conserve Water Calculator is a web based tool that can help you calculate how much water you use on a daily basis, and more importantly, provide tips for how to use less.

The Calculator takes you through a series of questions about your daily life, from baths to tooth-brushing to lawn watering, and as you answer these questions gives you an estimate of the total amount of water you use, called your “water footprint”. The Calculator takes into account not only the water used in your home, but also the water used to produce the food you eat and the products you buy. Your water footprint includes other factors such as water utilized to cool power plants that provide your electricity, and water saved when you recycle. You may not drink, feel or see this water, but it makes up the great majority of your water footprint.

* It is important to recognize that the Calculator relies on national averages and approximations, and your results should be considered an estimate and not a scientifically accurate assessment.

* The Calculator does provide a general assessment of your water use, as well as the quantity of water used daily by the average American to give you an idea of your use.

* When you finish the Calculator, your results will show your total household water use, as well as the average per person water use in your household.

Water scarcity is a growing problem throughout the US and abroad, and it is crucial that individuals and communities make efforts to conserve and protect this precious resource. H2O conserve is a web-based project that offers tools and knowledge that enable individuals to make water conservation part of their everyday lives.

H2O Conserve is a project of ICCR, GRACE, Food & Water Watch, and the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future.

Source: URL Wire

For more information on water conservation, visit www.nuprana.com

WaterSense program provides labeling specifications for new homes

EPA– The WaterSense program is currently developing a labeling specification for single-family residential new homes. A draft specification has been released for public comment; builders will be able to label their new homes once it is finalized. The following describes the water-saving features of a WaterSense labeled new home of the future.

Residential water use accounts for more than half of publicly supplied water in the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established WaterSense to protect the future of the nation’s water supply and to promote water-efficient products and services with a simple, easy-to-identify label. EPA encourages homeowners to replace their older, inefficient toilets and faucets with more water-efficient models. As populations increase, our water resources will be taxed further. The next step is to build new homes that are designed to use significantly less water—inside and out.

To encourage homebuilders to construct water-efficient, single-family residences, EPA is developing a specification to label new homes that will be designed to reduce water consumption through efficient plumbing fixtures, hot water delivery, appliances, landscape design, and irrigation systems.

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Source: EPA WaterSense

For more information on water conservation, visit www.nuprana.com