Water Conservation Of Water

The Phoenix “gray water” proposal, for example, that suggests installing two sets of pipes in new homes in Phoenix to allow residents to reuse some of their waste-water as so called “gray water,” or water that is below minimum drinking safety requirements and would normally be passed into the sewage system. “In addition to the standard pipes that send waste-water to the sewer, a second set

The consumption of water has been increasing in the last few decades. Most of the demand is caused by agricultural activities (BBC Features). Water needed for industrial purposes also drives up the demand. The world can learn about ways of conserving water from the countries that have initiated the measures and have become successful at it. Australia is considered as the most successful so far. Recycling, desalination, and harvesting rainwater are some of the solutions that can be applied to handle water shortages and create

Did you know that the average American household uses 400 gallons of water per day? With most of it being used in the bathroom for bathing, toilet flushing, handwashing and brushing of teeth! Other common uses for water include laundry, dishwashing, drinking, cooking, car washing and even watering of lawns. Where does this water go? A small portion will go back into the earth but most of it will flow through a sewer system heading to a sewage treatment plant to eventually be reused. In California, we get our water from a surface water source, coming from a river, lake, or reservoir. With the yearly average amount of rain and snow at 30 inches and shrinking per year, this makes water recycling a priority in today’s efforts on conservation. So, what is recycled water?

Recycling water is an effective way to save water. Recycling water is making wastewater into water people can safely use to water their crops, use in the toilet, and even for drinking. Dirty wastewater is pumped through pipes where they are filtered and exposed to ultraviolet light to remove bacteria and other molecules that are not water. The Sacramento Bee states that, “The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District currently pumps out about 1,000 acre-feet of recycled water a year to parks and schools in areas of Elk Grove near its treatment plant in southern Sacramento County” (Sangree). Creating safe water from the wastewater, which the state usually pumps out, is a smart and efficient process of supplying their cities with clean water. Not only is recycling water a

This will help save water because seventy-five percent of our water is used by farmers who use flood irrigation which is very wasteful. The second way to be resourceful is xeriscaping which is dry landscaping. By Xeriscaping water is being saved there’s no need to water your lawn or plants. Residential Californian’s spend about fifty percent of our water on watering the outdoors; that’s more than the rainfall we receive to be wasted on plants and lawns. The third way to be resourceful is desalinization technology which is by taking water out of the ocean and treating the water so there aren’t any impurities or salt in the water so it can be digested. This method is very costly and could also cause harm to the environment. Dozens of desalinization plants have been proposed to be built in California, but it isn’t cheap. The fourth way to be resourceful is by water recycling which is being used in parts of California; but isn’t used for drinking. However, the groundwater replenishment system has purifiers which make recycled water safe to drink. This is one of the best ideas on how to be resourceful because we already have groundwater replenishment systems in California. Water recycling is cheaper than desalinization and doesn’t cause harm to our environment. Lastly in being resourceful is conservation the average Californian household uses two-hundred gallons of water a day. Some good ways to conserve are: taking shorter showers, turning off water when not in

One more efficient way people could conserve would be by having their house inspected for leaks as they account for 16% of our water supply If farmers cut back by just 5% it would be equal to the 25% that the cities in California are required to conserve. The main goal of the city-wide water restrictions

California is in a drought and has been for the last three years. Southern California especially is affected by the drought that is now become a regular occurrence with no end in sight. With decreased rainfall and a steadily growing population, Southern California residents now have to make an effort to conserve the renewable resource that is water. Everyone uses water and humans, like all mammals, requires water for survival. With increased demand and decreased supply, water companies now charge more for water than ever before. Water companies can also use this as a way to educate the customers who habitually overuse water with the goal of persuading them to conserve the limited resources available. Recycled water is a more sustainable alternative, however even after treating and purifying that water, it would be still unsafe to drink, and even if it were, no one in their right mind would want to pay to drink what is a essentially sewer water.

We all love water, but don’t know much about it. What I mean is that a lot of us don’t even know where our water comes from. That answer varies; for example, the city of Camarillo California gets its’ water in Camrosa Water District. It’s official website, “Camrosa Water District building Water Self- Reliance” provides information like what their purpose is, and as well as water conservation, building self-reliance, and other public information. This website states that Camrosa is currently in a state two water supply shortage. This means that there are restrictions on water use and a call for a voluntary fifteen percent reduction on the amount of water consumption. Also, according to Camrosa “Agricultural Water Management Plan”, water is being

People and businesses in a variety of situations and sectors are helping out with the cause. City residents are cutting a surprising amount of water. People are taking shorter showers, switching out inefficient appliances, not washing their cars, and letting their lawns go dry. Water agencies are actually offering rebates for people that switch out their innefieciant shower heads and toilets. People are also saving water through, “xeriscaping, which means “dry landscaping,” homeowners replace thirsty grass with drought-tolerant native plants like wildflowers and succulents” (Bryan Walsh, 2014). The Santa Clara Valley Water District is even paying residents $1 per square foot to xeriscape their properties. Another method for conserving water is water recycling. It’s a method to cleanup and reuse wastewater. In Orange county there’s a Groundwater Replenishment System (GRS) that cleans 70 million gallons of wastewater per day. More plants like this are planned to open up in the next couple of years. California restaurants aren’t even allowed to serve water unless the customer specifically asks for it. The biggest water saving technique is drip irrigation. Drip irrigation, “allows water to seep slowly into the roots of plants through a network of tubes and valves at the base of a plant” (Bryan Walsh, 2014). While this technique is significantly more efficient than sprinklers and flood irrigation, it’s still not as widespread because it costs a lot to install the necessary equipment. About 40 percent of farms still use flood irrigation. Californians are finding many different ways to save every drop they can, but a whole lot more can still be done to save the maximum amount of

Some ways we recycle our water is by using it to water golf fields, ball fields, and parks. We also reuse water but putting it in ponds and other streams for our aquatic wildlife ecosystems. We preserve our water by putting it in underground aquifers. We make our water reusable at water reclamation factories that make them clean enough to put them places safely. In conclusion, we use water a lot so it’s a big priority to make sure we don’t waste it. Without our water, our way of living will become a lot harder. Farm food prices will go up because it’ll cost more to use the water to make the

The water users of California have been asked to cut back water use whenever possible. This means shorter showers, drought resistant landscape, and low flow options for faucets and sprinklers. Farmer’s alike have been spotlighted to cut back on water use for it is calculated that they consume 80% of the state’s developed water supply (pacisnt). Although cutting back is a way to help conserve what is available, it is imperative that a new supply of fresh water be found before California overdrafts itself to no supply at all.

This topic has a lot of correlation to what we have been discussing in class, and the assigned reading- in the sense that water is the basis of life on earth. Many people have the mindset (including myself before the tour) that we will never run out of water. This leads to an exaggeration of water being wasted whether it be from: washing dishes, taking long showers, running water when not using it. I learned from the treatment facility that they collect over 80 million gallons of wastewater a day! It also takes a lot of energy to be able to treat the water. I was surprised to learn the reclaimed water is used to feed parks, golf courses and even used agricultural purposes. This is important, and just like public transportation, should be funded and be labeled as high priority. The reason it should be funded more is because why waste the little fresh water we have left on places that don’t necessarily need them?

Conserving water saves you money! Not only will your water bill go down, but as you use less water, your gas or energy bill will also decline. If your whole community conserves, you will also pay less fees for water-related services. Water conserving communities will not need to pay as much to develop new supplies and expand or upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure.

According to water footprint studies, three classes of water use exists, namely, blue water which refers to the volume of surface and groundwater consumed in the manufacture of a product, green water which refers to the volume of consumption of rainwater excluding any runoffs and grey water is polluted water and by definition is the amount of freshwater needed to assimilate the load of pollutants given natural background concentrations and existing ambient water quality standards (Hoekstra et al 2011). The understanding of water footprint will eventually lead behavioral changes which will in turn ensure sustainable water use.

Every day Americans depend on public water systems to treat and deliver over 44 billion gallons of water to homes daily (“Importance of Clean Water”). However, Americans