- by Lindsay Spangler March
22, 2011 6:05 pm
There is no resource
more precious than water. There is also no resource that is misused, abused,
misallocated, and misunderstood the way water is. Safe drinking water, healthy
and intact natural ecosystems, and a stable food supply are a few of the things
at stake as our water supply is put under greater and greater stress.
The picture might look
grim, but opportunities to be more efficient abound. Many people have had
water-saving etiquette pumped into them at one point or another, so hopefully
we can make a good case for conserving the stuff with practical, everyday
water-saving strategies as well as some more high-tech approaches.
Top Water Conservation
Tips
No drips A dripping faucet can waste 20 gallons of water a day. A
leaking toilet can use 90,000 gallons of water in a month. Get out the wrench
and change the washers on your sinks and showers, or get new washerless
faucets. Keeping your existing equipment well maintained is probably the
easiest and cheapest way to start saving water.
Install new fixtures New, low-volume or dual flush toilets, low-flow showerheads, water-efficient dishwashers and
clothes washing machines can all save a great deal of water and money. Aerators
on your faucets can significantly reduce water volume; water-saving showerheads
can cut the volume of water used down to 1.2 gallons per minute or less, and
some even have a “pause button” to let you stop the water while soaping up or
shampooing. Our interns recently pointed out that “spending about $30 on low-flow
showerheads and faucets is estimated to save 45 gallons of that 260 gallons of
water [used in a typical household per day], almost 18% of your usage.
Splurging on a low-flow toilet could save another 50-80 gallons of water a day.
Together, those changes nearly cut in half the household’s daily use, saving a
considerable amount of water — and passing that savings on to your water bill,
as well as your water heating bill.”
Cultivate good water
habits All the water that goes down the
drain, clean or dirty, ends up mixing with raw sewage, getting contaminated,
and meeting the same fate. Try to stay aware of this precious resource
disappearing and turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving and
always wash laundry and dishes with full loads. When washing dishes by hand,
fill up the sink and turn off the water. Take shorter showers or, as the old
joke goes, shower with a friend: Treehugger TV shows you how. To put things in perspective,
take a quick look at your next water bill when it arrives. It probably won’t be
costing you too much, but the average household consumes multiple thousands of
gallons each month. See if you can make this number go down. If you’re the
graphing type, go nuts.
Stay off the bottle By many measures, bottled water is a scam. In most first-world
countries, the tap water is provided by a government utility and is tested
regularly. (You can look up your water in the National Tap Water Quality Database) Taste tests have shown that in many municipalities, tap water actually
tastes better. Bottled water is not as well regulated and studies have shown
that it is not even particularly pure. A
four-year study of bottled water in the U.S. conducted by NRDC found that
one-fifth of the 103 water products tested contained synthetic organic
chemicals such as the neurotoxin xylene and the possible carcinogen and
neurotoxin styrene. (Grist) Much bottled water doesn’t come from a “Artesian
springs” and is just tap water anyhow. (Coca-Cola adds salt to its Dasani water to make it taste
better, just like fast food.) Not only is it more expensive per gallon than
gasoline, bottled water incurs a huge carbon footprint from its transportation,
and the discarded bottles are a blight. It’s no wonder that some people even think it’s a sin. If you want to carry
your water with you, get a bottle and fill it. (Look here for some advise on durable, non-toxic container
options.) If your water at home tastes funny, try an activated charcoal or ceramic filter. Here is a comparison of home-use water filters from Grist.
Go beyond the lawn Naturalize it using locally
appropriate plants that are hardy and don’t need a lot of water. If you
have to water, do it during the coolest part of the day or at night to minimize
evaporation. Here is a useful calculator to figure out landscape water
use. Xeriscaping is a method of landscaping that utilizes only native and low
water plants. It is an especially appropriate approach for states like California and Arizona
where people often plant lawns like they live in Florida
Harvest your rainwater Put a rain barrel on your downspouts and use this water for irrigation.
Rain cisterns come in all shapes and sizes ranging from larger underground systems to smaller, freestanding ones. Some even glow!
Harvest your greywater Water that has been used at least once but is still clean enough for
other jobs is called greywater. Water from sinks, showers, dishwashers, and
clothes washers are the most common household examples. (Toilet water is often
called “blackwater” and needs a different level of treatment before it can be
reused.) Greywater can be recycled with practical plumbing systems like the Aqus, or with simple practices such as emptying the fish
tank in the garden instead of the sink. The bottom line? One way or another,
avoid putting water down the drain when you can use it for something else.
At the car wash Car washes are often more efficient than home washing and treat their water
rather than letting it straight into the sewer system. But check to make sure
that they clean and recycle the water. Better yet, try the waterless car wash. If you live in Manchester
Keep your eyes open Report broken pipes, open hydrants, and excessive waste. Don’t be shy
about pointing out leaks to your friends and family members, either. They might
have tuned out the dripping sound a long time ago.
Don’t spike the punch Water sources have to be protected. In many closed loop systems like
those in cities around the Great Lakes, waste water is returned to the Lake that fresh water comes out of. Don’t pour chemicals
down drains, or flush drugs down toilets; it could come back in diluted form in
your water.
Water Conservation
Facts: By the Numbers
- 2.5 gallons: The amount of water per
person much of the world is allocated.
- 400 gallons: The amount of water per
person used by the average American citizen; 30 percent of this is used
for outdoor purposes, such as watering the lawn.
- 70 percent: The amount of worldwide
water use that is allocated to farming; most of these farming irrigation
systems operate at only 40 percent efficiency. According to a 2002 article
by Lester Brown, aquifers are depleting all over the world–in
- 263: The number of rivers that
either cross or demarcate international political boundaries, in addition
to countless aquifers. According to the Atlas of International Freshwater
Agreement, 90 percent of countries in the world must share these water
basins with at least one or two other states. Major conflicts such as
- 1430: Gallons of water per cap
- 88 percent: Of deaths from diarrhea are
caused from unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability of water for
hygiene, and lack of access to san
- $11.3 billion: The amount of money
required to provide basic levels of service for drinking and waste water
in Africa and
- $35 billion: the amount of money spent on
bottled water in the most developed countries in the world.
- 1.5 million: Barrels of crude oil used
for making PET water bottles, globally. This is enough oil to fuel 100,000
American cars for a year.
- 2.7 tons: The amount of plastic used
to bottle water. 86 percent become garbage or litter.
Sources: EPA,
Wired, Water Wars of the Near Future, UNICEF, Earth
Policy Institute
Water Conservation:
Getting Techie
Where does it come
from? The water cycle is the process by which
water circulates around, over, and through the Earth. It is driven by the sun,
evaporating water from the oceans, rising through the atmosphere and condensing
as pure water or snow. About 505,000 cubic kilometers of water fall on the
earth each year, 398,000 over the oceans. The pure water is stored as ice, as
water in lakes, and in aquifers that have taken thousands of years to fill. 97%
of water is stored in the oceans; 2% in the ice caps; only 1% is in lakes,
groundwater or other useable sources. We draw on surface water (lakes and
rivers) subsurface (groundwater through pumping) and a small amount is made
(very expensively) through desalination. Read more about the water cycle at Wikipedia.
What is done to it? Sometimes very little. Where the water sources are pure, like in New York City
Is it really pure? While the consensus is that, overall, tap water is better than bottled
water for you and the environment, there are some concerns. Older houses and
apartment buildings may have lead plumbing which can contaminate it via pipes,
solder, and old brass fittings. There is also a growing convern about low
levels of antibiotics from agriculture and people disposing of medication down
the toilet. Gender-bender hormones from birth control pills, along with
phthalates from vinyl, are entering the water system and changing the sex of
fish http://www.raysapoint.com/contra.html, lowering the sperm count of men,
and doubling the number of annual male breast
reduction surgeries.
Where does it go? Too often, waster is just dumped. Often it enters combined systems that
are overwhelmed when it rains. Where there is sewage treatment it is of
variable quality, but a properly run modern plant can produce results that are
fairly effective. The systems are designed to mimic natural treatment processes
where bacteria consume the organic contaminants, and it can then be returned to
lakes or as groundwater. Unfortunately, in sub-Saharan Africa almost no waste
water is treated; in Latin America only about
15% is. The price is paid in diarrhea, typhus and cholera.
Where to Get Water
Conservation Products
Low-flow showerheads and
sink aerators
Dual-flush toilets
Appliances
How to Save Water:
From the Archives
Dig deeper into these
articles on Water from the TreeHugger and Planet Green archives.
The secret to saving
water is a synthesis of good practices and good design. Keep an eye on the the
TreeHugger archives for the latest methods and technologies.
Toilets
- Dual-flush options are available from Caroma, and numerous others. This Argentine toilet design lets the sink water do
the flushing.
- Here we have a link to a review of low-flow toilets To
learn about test methodology for low-flow toilets (you’ll never guess) and
the results of the rigorous trials, look here (test results here).
- Composting toilets that TreeHugger has covered include the Bio-lux, a pricey Japanese throne.
- Here you’ll find a review of more composting toilet
options.
- The Propelair uses vacuum action to flush itself.
- The Athena replacement handle saves water by controlling
flush quantity.
- Waterless urinals are made by many companies now, including Falcon
and Waterless, and look here for a case study of the water saving potential of
flushless urinals.
- The TwoFlush can turn any standard toilet into a dual
flush fixture.
Clothes washers
- LG’s steam cleaning, front loading clothes washer
boasts 35% less water consumption than a conventional model.
- This clothes washer from Sanyo doesn’t use water at all, but creates ozone and
fires it at your laundry.
- This washer from Bosch has earned high marks from Energy Star, and the
sleek and efficient Washerman was a winner in the Electrolux Design
Competition.
- Check out our eco-laundry tips here and green appliance comparison shopping here.
Dishwashers: GE’s Profile SmartDispense dishwasher And find some
practical tips here. The University
of Bonn
Showerheads:
Some showerheads that
TreeHugger has investigated include: the Neco, the Tiara shower for two (or one, if you’d like), Bricor offers 1 gallon-per-minute heads, the Aqua Helix squeezes out an impressive .5 gallons per
minute, and Real Goods has an affordable unit with a “pause” button.
And if you have a tendency to lose yourself in the moment, a shower timer might also be a good idea.
Water heating:
Point of use water heaters save water by delivering hot
water almost immediately rather than making you wait for it while the tap runs.
Some even use microwaves, and this Thermostatic fixture cuts the waiting time and looks sharp
in the process. More solid tips on greener water heating can be found here.
Purifying water
See some of the neat
developments in water purification for third world communities, including the LifeStraw, the UV Tube, the coffeground water filter. It has even been suggested to
make water filters from old tires. Before he segwayed into transportation, Dean Kamen developed a water purifier: “If you could take
all the diseases you could name, 80 percent would be wiped out if you just gave
people clean water.” Hydro-Dis is a new three-stage disinfection system from Australia
Bottled water
If you have your
doubts about the harm of everyday bottled water, wait until you see our coverage of
strange waters: water that makes you skinny, water for dogs, water that is sung to and infused with good intentions, and water with gold in it. Some bottled waters like Biota and Jivita are now using containers made from cornstarch, also
known as polylactic
acid (PLA). While these are non-petroleum products and are, in theory
biodegradable, they are not recyclable and most likely will never break down in
your backyard compost pile. Some companies like Ethos and HtoO are doing constructive things with their profits, but
they still are responsible for the many ecological impacts of bottled water.
How to Save Water:
Further Reading
We can’t even begin to
scratch the surface of the resources available for making water use more
Earth-friendly. Here are some starting points for insight and advice.
- Energy Star has pages dedicated to clothes washers and dishwashers.
- Peter Coombes, the Australian expert on rainwater research, has
lots to offer here.
- Rooftops to Rivers, an NRDC report on green Strategies
for controlling storm water and sewer overflow.
- Bottled Water–Pure Drink or Pure Hype? A massive 1999
NRDC study of the bottled water industry.
- The US Environmental Protection Agency has a lengthy list of
recommendations here.
- Lester Brown wrote about how the world is running out of fresh water
in 2000; it could have been written yesterday. See Grist’s coverage.
- Grist also ran a six part series on water privatization with Peter Cook
and Maude Barlow.
- Is it okay to drink bottled water? Ask Leo Hickman of The Guardian.
Books worth reading
- The Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson tells the story of
how mapping Cholera deaths in 1854
- Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing
Water, by Marc Reisner tells the story of conflicts over water policy
in the West and the resulting damage to the land, wildlife, and Indians.
- Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource, by Marq
de Villiers.
Movies worth watching
- Chinatown,
the classic film about the politics of water in 1930s
- The
Man Who Fell to Earth: David Bowie looking for water, lots of it.
- Thirst:
A film that tells the stories of communities in
- Water:
Tragedy
by the Ganges.
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