WATER RUNNING DOWN THE STREET - PLASTIC AND GLASS BOTTLES EVERYWHERE

This morning I saw water running down the street.  I walked a couple blocks to try and find its source and then called the local water company to report a leakage.  The water seemed to be coming from inside a warehouse that was locked up so maybe a broken pipe.  A leak like this can mean the loss of thousands of gallons of much needed water and massive bills for the owner of the pipe.

When I walk down the street I also pick up any bottles and cans, plastic, aluminum, and glass, that are laying around.  I wonder about people who litter.  Don't they care?  Are they ignorant or do they really intend to leave a mess?

I've noticed that if I don't pick up a glass bottle it will be broken the next time I walk past it, meaning it has become a real hazard, especially for the dogs!

WATER CONSERVATION is important and thinking about it I think about all the creatures that live in a water environment.

SAVING WATER... BOTONICAL DIE OUT IS A CONSEQUENCE...CAN YOU SAVE MORE?

I recently went to the grocer to buy oranges and they were $1.59 a pound.  I realized that citrus takes a lot of water to produce juicy fruit and that the price per pound was about the cost of water.

So how are we doing at saving water?

In my neighborhood, lawns, trees, bushes, and other plant life is dying because watering twice a week isn't enough water.  I hear people with dry coughs coughing everywhere I go as well, and I think it's because there is more dry dirt and dust in the air now that lawns are dying out.

The local water company is giving money back to people who get rid of thirsty lawns and plant drought tolerant plants instead, but instead I see people spending hundreds of dollars to cement in once grassy or garden areas.

Of course we must have water for drinking and water for agriculture, even more than we need water for bathing. 

So sink bath between showers, shut the shower off when you are soaping or shampooing, and continue to save water.

GREY WATER ! WHAT IS IT?

GREYWATER.COM  some points:

Greywater contains far less nitrogen than blackwater

Nine-tenths of the nitrogen contained in combined wastewater derives from toilet wastes (i.e., from the blackwater). Nitrogen is one of the most serious and difficult-to-remove pollutants affecting our potential drinking water supply.

Greywater contains far fewer pathogens than blackwaterMedical and public health professionals view feces as the most significant source of human pathogens. Keeping toilet wastes out of the wastewater stream dramatically reduces the danger of spreading such organisms via water.

Greywater decomposes much faster than blackwaterThe implication of the more rapid decomposition of greywater pollutants is the quicker stabilization and therefore enhanced prevention of water pollution.

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Can you use bath water or dish sink water to water your plants?  Yes, with provisions!

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SAVE WATER!

A you probably know already, there is drought and as a result in many places there is water rationing.

You can help save water by not wasting it.  Here is a list of things you can do that will help us save water so that there's enough for everyone for drinking and bathing, and so our farmers can water their crops.  You can probably think of other ways.

1) When you take a shower, after you're all wet and your hair is all wet, shut the water off while you soap up. Turn it back on to rinse.  YOU WILL SAVE GALLONS.

2) Don't use the water to heat a bathroom when it's too chilly to shower or bath.  Use a small portable heater to raise the air temperature first, shut it off, and then start with hotter water, and as the air temperature in the room rises, lower the water temperature.

3) Your dog and cat need to drink fresh water so you change the water in the bowl a couple times a day.  Don't throw that water down the sink.  Take it and water the vegetation that is on the "parkway" between the side walk and the street.  INSECTS NEED WATER and when they can't find it where they live they will come inside looking for it.  Then we kill them.

4) Consider changing part of your lawn from grass to a succulent or arid garden.  Put down stone for walkways around plantings. 

5) Be sure that your lawn and garden sprinklers are working and adjusted to not waste water that goes down the street to the sewer.

6) Toilets with low water flush are a puzzle.  Some of them have to be flushed twice to do the job.  However, you may have a toilet that would work just fine with less water.  Try filling a gallon water bottle, put the lid on it, set it down in the tank, and see what happens.  Displacing one gallon of water each time you flush will also save gallons.

7) Hand wash and hang to dry some of your clothing rather than put it through the machine. Hand washing is not only more gentle to fabrics but it also sometimes does a better job than the machine.  Over time you will save money and water.