Aussie Water Conservation

Ok What do you Aussies do to conserve water? Out here in West Texas we need some solutions.

Just look at this bloke:

Stillsuits.


When you say conservation, are you talking about personal or industrial/agricultural conservation?

Ok What do you Aussies do to conserve water? Out here in West Texas we need some solutions.

Theres only one good reason to use to toilet... everything else drains away or evaporates...
Gardens are pretty but unnessecary....
One 5 minute shower a day will do the job unless you have problems are or doing some kick ass workout... in which case you may need a second 5 minute shower....
Buy drink products made in other places, use thier water rather than your own...

Originally Posted by drone

Stillsuits.


When you say conservation, are you talking about personal or industrial/agricultural conservation?

Both. The Ogalla is running out.

On the other side of things i suppose you could just outlaw seltbeats and speed limits... bye bye water shortage

Keept it moving only still water rots

edit: just realised that Texas and the Netherlands water problems might just be of a different nature.

Currently in New South Wales (ANd I believe every other state) we are under some form of mandatory water restrictions and if you are caught doing certain things you can be fined:
List here

• Hand-held hosing of lawns and gardens and drip irrigation is allowed only on Wednesdays and Sundays before 10 am and after 4 pm
• Hosing of vehicles at residential premises is permitted only with a trigger nozzle or high-pressure water cleaning equipment (to a maximum of 10L/minute)
• Hosing residential building structures including windows, walls and gutters is allowed using a hose with a trigger nozzle or high-pressure water cleaning equipment (to a maximum of 10L/minute)
• No hosing of hard surfaces such as paths or driveways at any time
• No other watering systems or sprinklers are to be used at any time
• A permit from Sydney Water is required to fill new or renovated pools bigger than 10,000 litres
• No hoses or taps to be left running unattended, except when filling pools or containers

This is what my parents did during the recent Atlanta drought (on a side note, my mother is insane about her plants ):

• Route the gutter drain spouts to 55 gallon drums for later use. If you get a small rain, you can store up a decent amount just from roof runoff.
• Install a drip irrigation system (very popular in California).
• Recycle dishwater for plants. If you want to be super anal about it, remove the U-bend on sink drains and put buckets under to catch the runoff. Cap drain pipes in this case to prevent unpleasant smell.
• Don't flush the toilet for liquids.
• Install shower head shutoffs like those in RVs, turn water off when lathering up.
• Common sense stuff like not washing cars, watering lawns, filling pools, etc.

Think of water in 3 stages. Fresh water, grey water, and black water. Grey water can be reused for agriculture (soap may actually be good for plants). Black water is a health hazard and cannot be used, so down the toilet it goes. Long term though, I think sewer systems rely on the higher volume of grey water to help get the black to the treatment plant, so if implemented en masse these may back up the city's flow. Not sure what this would do to a home septic tank.

That reminds me, what do you guys think of my new shower.

In Western Australia, probably because we have the least people, we don't have as draconian restrictions as NSW. Our sprinklers are allowed on twice a week for example. I'm not quite sure what the actual regulations are though, they don't impact too much on my life.

in israel, and probably many other countries but strangely i havent seen one in the US yet, there ate 2-flush toilets. one lever for urine, which uses very little water, and a lever for feces, which uses a bit more.

Originally Posted by Fragony

That reminds me, what do you guys think of my new shower.

Beautiful looking shower. Weak water pressure. Please don't tell me that was full on.

Queensland got hit pretty hard. The combined level of the three dam's servicing Brisbane at around 47%.

As far as I know, we are still on level 4 water restrictions.
edit: proper restrictions: http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/myfiles/up...ions_Oct08.pdf

I dont understand half of that.

Dont use a hose, except between 5-6pm on saturday, don't fill the pool. Use dishwasher once a day max, shower in 4 minutes or less. its just natural now.


We were at 140 litres per person per day. Average use is about 120. We conserve well. 4 minute showers max (just automatic now) taps are watched (replaced free with a water saving showerhead as part of the waterwise service, like a free plumber)

Oooh we're at 170 now.
http://www.target140.com.au/

Smart Mechanical Engineers need to figure out how to effectively re-route rainfall/snowfall. Fargo North Dakota is swimming in a flood they don't need, while Texas burns and dries up. Hurricane Katrina swamps Louisiana and Mississippi, while California lets brushfires 'go' for lack of water.

If we can make an Interstate Highway System, we can surely make an Interstate Water-Transfer System. We get enough annual rainfall/snowfall, as a nation, to supply our every need, want and luxury - it just falls in the "wrong" places, and runs off, useless.

Meanwhile, on the conservation side, drone hits the mark, I think: you hafta think like an RVer, a self-contained tho' mobile, environment (kinda like B. Fuller's concept of "Spaceship Earth").

-use sparingly
-re-use as much as possible
-recycle as much as possible
-research how to decontaminate blackwater, to make it useful for something

-edit-
p.s. I observe and applaud this effort: Texas has a problem; got to totalwar.org backroom and ask Aussies and others what they do. I love this place.

Our fields are still in recovery mode from last spring's floods.

I'm half thinking about introducing a bill. I know it will go nowhere but just the fact I did it. The fact that they dont give tax breaks for putting in buffalo grass or native plants just goes to show we don't want to admit there is a problem.

If anything, ask for what the waterwise service was. $50 which you got back, something like 6 leaking taps fixed and 1 water efficiant shower head. Thats all i remember though. You could youtube the ad for it.

Originally Posted by Strike For The South

I'm half thinking about introducing a bill. I know it will go nowhere but just the fact I did it. The fact that they dont give tax breaks for putting in buffalo grass or native plants just goes to show we don't want to admit there is a problem.

And so it begins...

SFTS for President in 2028. Really.

By then 'water' will be the new 'oil'. And we'll be down to basics; which our boy has already shown a uniquely american approach to.

Being down to basics, we'll need a basics kinda guy - someone who truly understands both the little guy's struggles, and the big guy's needs, and can find a middle ground that all can live with, and prosper. At 78, I'll get the seniors behind him.

Maybe, wa-a-a-a-ay behind

Hmm, I would reply more to this but I'll have to take a 20 min shower soon.

Like any problem on a massive scale, it will only be until the public hits rock bottom will any sort of change will be implemented. I don't see rock bottom being hit for another couple years. Is the crisis growing? Yes, but if it took America its third oil crisis to begin the drive toward alternative energy I don't see how it won't be different for water. Do you need water to live? Yes. Oil? No, but if you wanted to do anything with your life nowadays it will involve oil in some way.

Asking for solutions now will mostly likely be pointless because once we hit rock bottom the panic and fear sets in, and reasonable solutions will be disregarded in favor of drastic ones.

Originally Posted by LittleGrizzly

[B]
Buy drink products made in other places, use thier water rather than your own...

Didn't they teach you in school how water cycle works?

On the bright side, though, when global warming melts the ice caps, there will be plenty of water for everyone

Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh

Beautiful looking shower. Weak water pressure. Please don't tell me that was full on.

Called raindance bubba it's supposed to feel like rain, that is a lot of water trust me, why do you have to be like that?

Here in Oklahoma we conserve water by not bathing.

In terms of longer-term measures and a practical approach I just thought I'd add that a large portion of Perth's water is provided by desalination. One plant is operating and another was on track before the big credit crunch (haven't heard much about it for a while...). It seems somewhat efficient, but the initial outlay is quite costly.

Read Dune by Frank Herbert. There is plenty of juice inside them Dead.

Originally Posted by CountArach

Currently in New South Wales (ANd I believe every other state) we are under some form of mandatory water restrictions and if you are caught doing certain things you can be fined:
List here

• Hand-held hosing of lawns and gardens and drip irrigation is allowed only on Wednesdays and Sundays before 10 am and after 4 pm
• Hosing of vehicles at residential premises is permitted only with a trigger nozzle or high-pressure water cleaning equipment (to a maximum of 10L/minute)
• Hosing residential building structures including windows, walls and gutters is allowed using a hose with a trigger nozzle or high-pressure water cleaning equipment (to a maximum of 10L/minute)
• No hosing of hard surfaces such as paths or driveways at any time
• No other watering systems or sprinklers are to be used at any time
• A permit from Sydney Water is required to fill new or renovated pools bigger than 10,000 litres
• No hoses or taps to be left running unattended, except when filling pools or containers

Which while making people feel good, are completely irrelevant compared to the amount of water consumed for industrial purposes.

Water has been far too cheap in Australia for decades, which has led to a culture that is incredibly wasteful. Green lawns are seen as something of a right, rather than a luxury etc...

I'd suggest that everyone gets allocated a water amount based on size of household, climate and land area - that level of water would be sufficient for daily necessities and would be very cheap. Beyond that have the price go up to true luxury prices - then if someone wants a green lawn they can have one, but it will cost them.

Didn't they teach you in school how water cycle works?

Clouds...rain...evaporation...clouds again... this water cycle ? yes !

Its not exactly a long term solution ill admit but surely buying foriegn bottled water rather than using your local stuff out the tap will result in less local water being used... the water will make its way back home (or the equivelent amount of water will take its place) but if a family drunk only bottled water from other places then that families water drinking would no longer be dependent on local supply...

Meaning local supply has more water to go around less people!

Are am i missing something...

One simple solution is to use native plants in gardens.

If you live in a semi-arid environment, like most of Oz*, then perhaps your garden shouldn't look like an English lawn. Use native plants. It conserves water, it preserves native species, it creates native ecologies. It is water conservation within a larger, sustainable environment frame of mind.



* Or Arizona, Texas, Southern Europe, South Africa. Can't use your airconditioning and swimming pools either. We up north, of course, are still allowed our central heating. My sense of justice demands that people who live in the sun must pay a price for it.

It will be a long time before we have to worry about such things up here in Scotland!