Water Conservation Tips

California is known as the Golden State, famous for its sunshine.  But the past three years have brought more sunshine than we're used to.  The entire state is now reported as being in a serious drought.  In fact, more than 50% of the state is listed as being in the top-level category of "exceptional" drought.  Some communities have already run out of water.  Lakes and rivers are low. Wildfires are burning, with 216 reported in just one week.  A fire has even been burning in beloved Yosemite National Park, reknown for its world-class waterfalls.  

Last month, California decided on a first-ever statewide rationing program that fines people who use water inappropriately.  Before any panic ensues, that basically means the following:

1. No spraying off your concrete driveway or walkways.

2.  No washing your car without a hose shut-off valve.

3.  No oversaturating your lawn until the water runs off into the street.

4.  No using potable water for your ornamental fountains unless the water recirculates. 

First world problems.

Where do you want to use your drinkable water?

Well, the point is that we should be saving water.  Simply knowing that other people like our firefighters are facing serious hardship right now, we are trying to do our part. 

One of the coolest ways to conserve is to use your water twice.

That's right. . . just like out-of-date clothes can get a second life as hand-me-downs,  scrap quilts, or shop rags. . . and just like old pallets can be upcycled into planter boxes, benches, and tables. . . some of your water can be used more than once.  Here are some ways to do that.

1.  After meals, wash your dishes with biodegradable soap in a dishpan, not a stopped-up sink.  All that leftover grey, slightly sudsy water can be poured onto your houseplants or rosebushes.

2.  Making potato or pasta salad for a summer picnic?  After you boil potatoes, eggs, pasta, corn on the cob or broccoli, chances are you'll have a big pot of water left over.  Let it cool, then use it to water your garden!  Not only is it perfectly adequate as potable water, it can actually be GOOD for your garden, adding nutrients to the soil.

3.  If you are rinsing vegetables (lettuce, spinach, carrots, etc.), use a colander and a dishpan or bucket.  Catch all the water that would normally just run down the sink.  You might be surprised how much that is! 

4.  Does your shower take a long time to warm up?  It can take five minutes before the hot water gets from our water heater to the upstairs shower.  Keep a bucket in the bathroom and catch that chilly water while you're waiting.  Why waste such clean water?  Use it elsewhere!

Hope this helps you to think outside the box and keep your gardens and houseplants   growing through dry seasons.  And of course it helps to turn off water when you lather up, take shorter showers, wash full loads of laundry and repair leaks in plumbing and hoses.  It's really not too hard to make a difference if we try!