Water is essential- preparedness - conservation etc

Poppy

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Dec 20, 2012
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Fortunately we don't too often have water restrictions due to drought in my State, but when we do, I think of how to conserve water.

In my RV we had Black water, and Gray water holding tanks. Black is sewerage, Gray is shower and sink. We do a lot of laundry, and use biodegradable soaps. I think that it would be a good idea to capture Gray water at home, and use it to water the lawn.

I don't know if the organic food materials in the sink water would attract insects and be more of a nuisance or if it would be a worthwhile way to add fertilizer. We use a LOT more water doing laundry, and showering, than we do washing dishes. Capturing used laundry water might be relatively easy because it is pumped out.

Years ago I read a series of satirical books written by L. Ron Hubbard "Mission Earth" series. An outer space alien questioned "Why do these Earthlings add chemicals to their drinking water to kill plants, and then spray it on their lawns?"
 

markr6

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Jul 16, 2012
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I looked into the rain barrel thing, but then realized I don't really use any water outside. Watering the lawn would be nice, but that's not feasible.

Then I saw certain counties/cities are pretty strict about what you can do. That seems strange, especially after they go and pave the entire county, develop over wetlands, spray and bulldoze every tree in sight, etc.
 

Katherine Alicia

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I don't know if the organic food materials in the sink water would attract insects and be more of a nuisance

Plant Marigolds and/or Chrysanthemums around the border, that should lower the insect population. Or, you could go hardcore and buy a packet of tobaco seeds on ebay, just a couple of plants will give you plenty of insecticide (avoid using it around tomatoes or potatoes though).
 

bykfixer

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Dust in the Wind
What the cities and counties are doing is being forced on them by environmental regulations.
Used to be that when it rained on a forest or field the water soaked into the soil and slowly fed springs that fed streams.

When it rained streams swelled and some erosion occured but it was mother natures way of slowly changing things.
Now with pipes dumping into streams with a water having a lot of velocity the energy causes much faster erosion. The soils being transported cause clogs at narrow points which causes waters to go beyond the banks and flood areas that did not flood 30 years ago. So the new regulations are meant to lessen the energy of runoff.

For years my job involved erosion control methods during construction but now includes storm water management post construction. Things like ponds, percolation facilities and underground storage tanks are being built to reduce the problem.

Another problem is fertilizer in the runoff. Much of the comercial products are not very water soluable. Trees and grasses and such don't eat per sae. They absorb nutrients from the water the roots drink. So non soluable chemicals end up in streams as well. Low areas where water collects during heavy rains but are not part of the stream are loaded up with nitogen and other stuff that algae loves. So that ends up changing the balance of things too.

If you don't have a need to store water for watering lawns you can just dump it out in low points of a yard and let it soak in. That helps feed streams without you even knowing it. If you use fertilizer, check the label for water soluable. The best fertilizer is compost as it is 100% water soluable.

Conserving water is going to become more vital as time goes on as big ole reseviors load up with sediment and enviro regs halt dredging. Where I live there is a small lake that used to supply water to the town. But these days there is a lot less water stored behind the dam due to sediment build up and a lot more straws sucking water from the bowl as it were due to lawns being watered by more and more homes and businesses. People washing clothes more often, showering more often and just generally using more water that ends up down stream in a river is resulting in less water percolating back into the soil. We turn on a faucet and water comes out. And we take that for granted these days.
 

idleprocess

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decamped
Then I saw certain counties/cities are pretty strict about what you can do. That seems strange, especially after they go and pave the entire county, develop over wetlands, spray and bulldoze every tree in sight, etc.

Some of this is due to the byzantine system of water rights in this country. Collecting rainwater is forbidden in many states and locales because doing so could impact delivery of rainwater to reservoirs and waterways and ultimately reduce the water received by a party with senior rights to that water. Rights to the waters carried by the Colorado River has been the source of much contention for a century, with many of the states that the river flows through having junior rights to other states; the fact that these rights are based on rather ... optimistic ... assumptions about nominal annual flows are further complicating matters.
 

jabe1

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Apr 25, 2008
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Cleveland,Oh
It has always bothered me that we use treated potable water to flush our toilets. We should be incorporating gray water systems into homes and businesses to do this.
The fertilizer issue is very much for real. The western basin of Lake Erie frequently has algae blooms related to excess phosphorus carried down the Maumee river. The water system has been shut down due to this. Most of the runoff is attributed to farms frequently over fertilizing, and doing so before inclement weather.
 

markr6

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It has always bothered me that we use treated potable water to flush our toilets. We should be incorporating gray water systems into homes and businesses to do this.
The fertilizer issue is very much for real. The western basin of Lake Erie frequently has algae blooms related to excess phosphorus carried down the Maumee river. The water system has been shut down due to this. Most of the runoff is attributed to farms frequently over fertilizing, and doing so before inclement weather.


I kayaked the entire Maumee last year and it was interesting to see that first-hand. Corn 18 inches away from the bank. No buffer and basically just a clay "chute" dumping all that runoff into the river.

National Geographic had a really good section on the Great Lakes recently and the algal bloom part for Erie was downright scary.
 

ironhorse

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Sep 8, 2008
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Pennsylvania
I unhooked the automatic drain hose from the dehumidifier. When it is full, I dump it into a bucket and use it to water the tomato plants. They really thrive on that water for some reason. If I don't need it for the plants, I use it to flush the toilet. Also when I need hot water, rather than letting the water go down the drain until it gets hot, I run the water in a bucket and use that to flush the toilets also.
 

Hooked on Fenix

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A drought emergency was just declared in 41 California counties today. I don't think the state's plan to remove the dams on the Klamath River is going to help (other than the salmon). Try not to waste water. When they declare a drought, water prices tend to skyrocket if you use more than you should.
 

markr6

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Also when I need hot water, rather than letting the water go down the drain until it gets hot, I run the water in a bucket and use that to flush the toilets also.

After seeing this mentioned a couple times, I will start doing the same. And since I'm no longer married, I can get away with doing strange things. Well, 'strange' in the eyes of most spouses I assume :)
 
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