Waste Not?

The water bill might be okay with you, but it’s time to think about the planet

By Heather Curless

 More than 70 percent of the Earth is water. So why worry when your water pressure rises, and your sprinkler waters your driveway in addition to your lawn?

 Because almost 97 percent of the world’s water is salty or otherwise undrinkable. Another 2 percent is locked in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves only 1 percent for all of our agricultural, residential, industrial and commercial needs.  Our supply is diminishing, and demand is increasing.

This increased demand and increased drought in some regions are cause for serious conservation efforts around the world.  Increased demand also places a financial burden on the companies and municipalities providing clean water.   The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis (2002) estimated that if “capital investment and operations and maintenance remained at current levels, the potential funding shortfall for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure could exceed $500 billion by 2020.” 

So what can we do each day to conserve water?

Use wood products made from sustainably managed forests or rapidly renewable materials like bamboo and cork.  Hardwood forests require an enormous amount of resources, including water because hardwoods take so long to mature.  Sustainably managed forests reduce water pollution (http://www.fscus.org/).  In addition, rapidly renewable products reach maturity in fewer years and need less water resources to grow.  

For products that are manufactured using a large amount of water, inquire if that water is recycled or reused in the manufacturing process. 

Upgrade to low-flow toilets, faucets and shower heads.  Look for the WaterSense label to know that the fixture meets EPA recommendations.  There also are many affordable retrofit kits to help make old fixtures more efficient.  The Brondell Simple Flush (brondell.com) dual flush toilet converter attaches to most standard flush toilets and allows the user to select a half flush or full flush.  Sink Positive replaces the tank lid and provides a “touchless hand wash with clean, supply line water before redirecting the used, grey water to the toilet bowl for the next flush.” (sinkpositive.com) 

Use native and drought-tolerant plants and reduce lawn areas to reduce the amount of water needed and limit the use of grass as it requires a large amount of water to maintain.  

Use timers and sensors for irrigation systems.  

Use rainwater catchment systems to water your plants.  Although chlorinated water is great for our teeth, it is not as good for our plants.  Likewise, why pay for water when rainwater is FREE?  In many cities, sewage fees are directly related to water usage.  So if you are using tap water for your plants, you may also be paying for sewage treatment of that water.   

The issues that our world faces with respect to water resources can seem overwhelming, but understanding how our choices affect the demand for water will ultimately help us to reduce our needs. 

You can understand your personal water usage better by using a water footprint calculator like the one at www.h2oconserve.org. 

Heather Curless is Our LEED AP at naturalinteriors.com and Natural Interiors TV. She also owns Greener Stock in Cincinnati, www.greenerstock.com 

Additional Sources:

www.epa.gov/WaterSense

www.epa.gov/owm/waterinfrastructure/pdfs

www.fscus.org

www.h2oconserve.org