Water conservation

[habernac]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

i think mine has a timer, but that would defeat the purpose of shafting the other owners of the condo out of hot water.

lol!

[pepper24]

Originally Posted by edn88

Unfortunately I think that the best way to get people to conserve is to get them to pay for use.

I agree 100%. Most folks won't make any changes until it hits them in the wallet.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Titan

A question I have had on this topic is can you actually waste water? It is either turned to steam and enters the atmosphere or goes down the drain. If it is grey it goes into the bow and nature cleans it, if it is black then it goes to the treatment plant. I understand that energy can be wasted to heat, transport (so to speak) and treat water but is the water ever actually wasted?

Obviously, if chemicals are introduced it can affect downstream users and need to be cleaned, another energy hit, but the water itself is still viable, no?

Am I way off and missing something?

As I understand it, there can never be a real shortage of water because of what you just described, the shortage is one of clean drinkable water. So much water is untreatable (at any reasonable cost) that it will become an extremely valuable thing.

Without some form of conservation, there will become a time when that cost to treat water will become higher than the cost to invade and take that water..

[CGYTransplant]

I do the typical stuff- run full loads of appliances, low flow toilets, low flow showerheads, showers instead of baths, water the lawn as little as possible, use rainwater for the bedding plants and garden.

As much as I hate to say it, I think the gov't needs to tighten restrictions on heavy oil water use. When I worked for a heavy oil company (granted, this was YEARS ago, so things may have changed since then), we needed to find water source and disposal zones. We were expected to use non potable water (i.e. water with a TDS too high for human consumption or use, even after purification). However, if we could prove that non-potable sources were "too far or too difficult to reasonably use" then we could use potable water. Needless to say, every non-potable water source was "conveniently" too costly to tap into. I look back and feel shame that I allowed potable water (in some cases, good enough to sink a drinking well into) to be used for industrial purposes, when there was an alternative that was just slightly more expensive.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Calgary introducing water meters for this very reason? Aren't we all supposed to be switched over in the next couple of years?

[Bagor]

I have 3 self made 3 barrels (old Olive barrels) that I use for plants and vegetables here in Ottawa. 1 composter that I'm amazed what it takes over the course of a year.

Self made because the conventional ones IMO are far too expensive.

Basically it's emptied each Fall, filled 3/4 full with leaves, then gets all my household waste for the rest of the year and I finsih up with about 1/2 bin full of compost.

If municipalities want to encourage water conservation then they need to make it more affordable for people to get involved (i.e. cover some of the cost).

If someone could figure out a device that would enable me to get the water out of the barrels under pressure so at least it would feed a sprinkler hose I'd be all over it.

[MoneyGuy]

Thanks to all who contributed comments. They were helpful.

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Thanks to all who contributed comments. They were helpful.

Happy to help!

[GoinAllTheWay]

I agree, water can't be wated. Useable, drinkable water can. That being said, I remember seeing an article a while back about a new waterbottle some guy had developed (A concept Mazda car actually utilizes it). Basically, you can pump any stagnant water through it (bog water, rain water, etc...) and 100% clean water comes out the other side. Apparently the filters in it are smaller than any organic matter on earth. I know it does not do the trick with salt water (although a prototype one was being devolped) but not sure how it does with chemically contaminated water.

But the guy developed it for tsunami or earthquake survivors or regions where water was available, it just wasn't the cleanest. He figures if they shipped out his water filters instead of gallons of water jugs to places like Africa, it would wipe out people dying becuase lack of water.

Impressive technology and if true, would end peoples dependance on delivered drinking water. The filters were estimated to last long enough to provide one person with drinkable water for 1 year.

I would LOVE it if one day, houses could come off the grid for power, water and heat. Each house had the ability to produce water, heat and power all by itself. Man that would be nice.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I write newspaper columns and am working on a project related to water conservation. I'd be interested in comments from the folks here on these topics:

-Do you believe in recycling in general (water specifically) and how do you practise it at home?
-How do you see the importance of conserving, etc. - basically, the 3Rs?
-Any thoughts you have on this issue? My topic is water conservation so, if possible, please focus your comments on this topics.

I know that much of Calgary has no meters so water conservation is less important to the average Calgarian, but that's not relevant to my topic.

Thanks.

I try my best (recycle anything that can be recycled - pop cans, paper, electronics, etc, only use the dish washer when its completely full, take the stairs instead of the elevator if its less then 5 floors and I try to bike whenever possible (i.e. within 6km). One thing I do admit is I do like long showers from time to time.

My roommate is really bad about recycling, and when I mentioned it once or twice he just blew it off and said whatever. He throws out paper, soup cans, and will turn on the dish washer with a few plates and forkes in it. Sort of annoys me.

[Swarly]

I drink hard alcohol instead of water or beer (as beer is mostly water).

[Buff]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I've heard that wars may be fought over water in the future. Anyone have views on this? James, I'll get to your PM later.

Perhaps this was, in a way, already predicted. If you'll recall the TV series V. It was a mini tv series where an alien race came to Earth claiming to be friendly and helpful but their goal was to steal water from Earth as they squandered the resources on their home planet.

This may not be such a far fetched idea. Ok, so the aliens invading thing is, but one country with enough power may decide to force another country to "share" their water resources with the powerful nation.

[maverickstruth]

I used to work for the City in their Utilities and Environmental Protection (UEP) department -- specifically with the folks in communications for Water Services and Water Resources.

Suffice it to say, water shortages are a massive (and growing) concern for the City. The problem is multi-fold. A lot of water is wasted, and unless you want to be piping it in from all over the place, there is only a limited amount of water that comes into the city (via rain, the rivers, etc.). We also have a real impact on those downstream from us -- the more water we use, the less that's available for everyone else. While it does eventually all get back to the rivers, it takes time.

Then there's the problem of what you do with the water once it's been used. The water from your taps, toilets, etc. goes into the sewer system and then to the wastewater treatment plants, and they aren't cheap to run. As usage grows, so does the need to treat all that water. There is limited capacity to treat the water, and this has been a big issue in the past -- new treatment facilities help, but they only have limited capacity.

The water that runs off into storm drains (for example, when you wash your car) goes into the storm drain system, and straight back into the river. So yes, all that detergent you use when washing your car heads downstream, and can have a serious effect on populations downstream. For example, farm land that draws from the water (over- and underground) also soaks up your crud. Talk about imbalancing soil chemistry. I believe that it is actually against a city bylaw to allow detergent, etc. to run into the storm drains for this very reason. I could be remembering incorrectly, though.

In fact, if I remember correctly, the potential of water shortages is one of the City's major concerns going forward. They're working toward a major push for reduction -- both at the government level, and at trying to give citizens a nudge in the right direction. That's why you see things like the "fill a frisbee" advertising campaigns, the leaky toilet campaign, the low-flow toilet rebate, the rain barrel program, etc.

Anyway, that's what I have to contribute. I only worked for UEP for a few months and it was a while ago so I've forgotten a lot, but it certainly had an impact on how I viewed things like "wasted water".

[Bagor]

MG, here's NRCan's synthesis and summary of key chapter findings of their Impacts to Adaptation (Climate change) report from 2007.

Observed and predicted water shortages is a re-occuring theme from the Atlantic -Prairies- Pacific.

http://adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/assess...th/intro_e.php

[mykalberta]

I personally think the City should charge water on a escalating scale.

Example, determine the amount water the average family of 5 requires for drinking, bathing, etc. And then anything over that you get charged big time. So if you have a pool, or wash your cars once a week, or whatever, you get charged what you should. City water shouldnt be there to fill your pool or hot tub at a cheap rate IMO.

[MoneyGuy]

One thing I've never understood is why people stand in the shower with the water running as they soap themselves. I push the knob straight in to stop the flow, then straight back out to restart. It's easy, and I even do this in hotel rooms where I'm not paying the bill. This isn't a little measure, folks. It saves a lot of water. I'm guessing I use about a third of the water that you do in one of your showers, even if you're an in-and-out shower person. I also don't linger. Try turning the water off; you may like it.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

One thing I've never understood is why people stand in the shower with the water running as they soap themselves. I push the knob straight in to stop the flow, then straight back out to restart.

Navy showers. I do them when we're camping in the trailer, and we need to preserve hot water. Works well.

However, at home I generally find the ongoing stream of hot water very therapeutic and helpful in getting me to wake up.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

I agree, water can't be wated. Useable, drinkable water can. That being said, I remember seeing an article a while back about a new waterbottle some guy had developed (A concept Mazda car actually utilizes it). Basically, you can pump any stagnant water through it (bog water, rain water, etc...) and 100% clean water comes out the other side. Apparently the filters in it are smaller than any organic matter on earth. I know it does not do the trick with salt water (although a prototype one was being devolped) but not sure how it does with chemically contaminated water.

But the guy developed it for tsunami or earthquake survivors or regions where water was available, it just wasn't the cleanest. He figures if they shipped out his water filters instead of gallons of water jugs to places like Africa, it would wipe out people dying becuase lack of water.

Impressive technology and if true, would end peoples dependance on delivered drinking water. The filters were estimated to last long enough to provide one person with drinkable water for 1 year.

I would LOVE it if one day, houses could come off the grid for power, water and heat. Each house had the ability to produce water, heat and power all by itself. Man that would be nice.

or you could just use this system which can apparently purify any water source no matter what's in it. i really hope it's the real deal and not some marketing BS the guy is feeding us, because that would seem to solve all water issues instantly

EDIT: hmm, it does appear to be real and if the inventor can get the cost down to $1000-$2000 per unit like he says, then he could potentially go down as one of the most important people in human history. wonder why no one outside of Colbert in the mainstream media has really picked up on this thing

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by maverickstruth

Suffice it to say, water shortages are a massive (and growing) concern for the City.

If it was really a problem, why do they let businesses run "air conditioners" using nothing but cold water? For example, at my old work we needed to be able to cool a server room without adding ventalation. So a system was brought in that basically had cold water running through a device like a car heater core. And that water once used was then discarded. It was probably very clean and could have been used for toilets as an example, but instead went into the sewer system.

When I think about how many businesses do the same thing, it makes me really wonder if doing some rationing will really have an impact; it's like me deciding not to litter while standing at the city dump.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

wonder why no one outside of Colbert in the mainstream media has really picked up on this thing

Probably because while he thinks he can get it down to 1-2000, the original cost 100K. He could reduce construction costs by 90% and it still wouldn't be viable.

[Vulcan]

I have my own well and septic system as do all my neighbours. I've never run out of water although my neighbour ran a hose one summer from my pumphouse to his house when he ran out.

It's a big deal keeping the two systems separate and they have to be approved by the Provincial board of Health. It helps that I'm on a hill with sandy soil for good drainage and have a new septic system with a pump. Some of the people with waterfront property below me have had to buy a lot up here and pump their waste up to the lot.