Saving water

wishfulthinking said:
The long term political solutions [it is election year] - desalinisation, recycling sewerage water for drinking water - seems they aren't going to be up and running in time before the city runs dry if they can decide on what they are going to do.

It will be a very long time before they try to recycle sewage water for drinking water. However, the recycled sewage water can replace drinking water that is now used to water crops or even water the lawn.
 
R. Richard said:
It will be a very long time before they try to recycle sewage water for drinking water. However, the recycled sewage water can replace drinking water that is now used to water crops or even water the lawn.

It is estimated that London's drinking water passes through at least three people before it reaches the sea. Reusing water has been around for a long time. It used to be that towns downstream used the river for drinking that had been polluted by towns upstream. Now pumping can share the de-polluted water around.

Og

Edited for PS. One of our local water companies has just ended a trial of desalination. The lowest they could get the cost was thirty times that of surface water and fifty times that of ground water. Desalination works for the Gulf states with unlimited oil and little natural water. Otherwise - it's too expensive at the moment.
 
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R. Richard said:
It will be a very long time before they try to recycle sewage water for drinking water. However, the recycled sewage water can replace drinking water that is now used to water crops or even water the lawn.

R. Richard,

I am with you on this. While the ability and tech is there to recycle used water into drinking water it will not be done any time soon. This is because of two factors. One is expense and the other is the publics idea of drinking water that has been recycled.

Currently here in South Florida we do recycle the sewage and use it for watering lawns and crops.

Cat
 
wishfulthinking said:
Ogg and Seacat have given some really good suggestions. Amicus's way of thinking is in the past ...
My first thought was, Can I skip washing the car and bathe for an extra minute?!

These are some really good suggestions! A few were pretty elaborate, but others are so simple there's no reason not to do them. And, yeah, it's just too funny to see someone with an intellect that all but defines stagnant try to pass his notions off as forward thinking.

Did anyone mention automatic dishwashers? It seems they must use lots more water than washing dishes by hand, though I'm not quite sure I'm willing to make that sacrifce just yet!!! The last time we had a repairman visit he told us we should run the water until it's hot so the dishwasher's not drawing cold water at first, which makes sense. I confess we haven't been saving the water we ran until it was hot- so there's one more thing I can easily do that I hadn't thought of before.
 
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"...Originally Posted by wishfulthinking
Ogg and Seacat have given some really good suggestions. Amicus's way of thinking is in the past ..."


Add pensive Penelope to the above and et al who have their heads in the past.

I will try once again to puncture the pastoral mindset of the indigent female population and the feminist wannabees who savor the past.

It is a mindset, in general, that has been resisting and fighting progress since the industrial revolution.

No coal fired steam engines for you, oh, no, nasty smokey things, let's stay with human power and horse and oxen power.

Fight the damned railroads they are dangerous, polluting and noisy and will put all the horse hauled cargo handlers out of business. Stay with what we know!

God no, don't inject a sickness into people as a cure, the work of the devil! (Thanks Louis)

Ban the horseless carriage! Speeds greater than twenty miles an hour will kill humans! Let's keep the horses and buggies!

The industrial revolution and the freeing of the market place from unions and kings and priests, opened a world of change and innovation. The creativity of the human mind was finally released to explore the unknown, to find better and more efficient ways to do the old things and discover new ones.

Water and sewage handling is in the hands of government agencies and government employees. Transfer that power to the private market place and your water shortages and disposal problems will disappear in short order.

The passive mindset of keeping your horse and buggy while the farm next door has a tractor is where you are with your affection for conservation and limitation.

Everything grows and changes in nature, even the human body. You folks would still be in diapers so as not to have to change your clothing style if it were fashionable.

The mindset is deeply political in terms of a powerless collective being forced to take two minute showers with a bucket underneath to collect the overflow. If you can control people, you can control what they consume, that worked really well for the Soviets.

In areas such as the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast USA billions and billions of gallons of rainwater and snowmelt flow down the rivers into the bays and oceans each year. Why?

Flooding all along the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee inundates land year after year and flows and floods all the way down to the Gulf. Why?

Enough precipitation each year flows back into the oceans to satisfy the needs of a nation of a billion people. Why?

A profit motivated private concern would use those facts of nature to supply and resupply the nations water needs and find a way to utilize the potential energy at the same time to create another wealthy class of middle class investors.

All you need do is get government off their backs. Turn over the problem to the creative minds of free men and women and take the power away from mindless bureaucrats.

It's so easy even a Caveman could do it.

amicus the neanderthal
 
Penelope Street said:
Did anyone mention automatic dishwashers? It seems they must use lots more water than washing dishes by hand, though I'm not quite sure I'm willing to make that sacrifce just yet!!!

"Energy Star" dishwashers use very little water and compare favorably to hand-washing. Of course, that depends on how efficient the handwashing technique is. The increased sanitation of a dishwasher using hotter water than is possible with hand washing offsets any minimal water saving/wasting differences there might be.

Penelope Street said:
The last time we had a repairman visit he told us we should run the water until it's hot so the dishwasher's not drawing cold water at first, which makes sense. I confess we haven't been saving the water we ran until it was hot- so there's one more thing I can easily do that I hadn't thought of before.

On the same note, a little pre-planning of your hot water requirements can save repeating that intitial run-off: Plan on taking your shower, laundry, and other hot water uses in sequence so that you only have to warm up the pipes once.
 
amicus said:
Add pensive Penelope to the above and et al who have their heads in the past.

I will try once again to puncture the pastoral mindset of the indigent female population and the feminist wannabees who savor the past.

...

amicus the neanderthal

LOL. Like I care what list a fossilized brain thinks I belong on. I read your ramblings strictly for the comic value that stems from you trying to rearrange 'facts' to defend the archaic 'truths' learned as a child. The recurring contradictions are just precious. It's a guilty pleasure, I know, but the way you cluck about like a lost rooster is too much to resist. I guess you have taught me one thing I didn't know- it's possible to giggle and gag at the same time. I'm not nearly so busy now that tax season is over, so please, Neandertal, enlighten me with more of your genius! Something tomorrow morning to leave a smile of my face while I begin my day- that would be perfect! Here, let me help you start...

Well...

Can't say I'm surprised. What more can one expect from one suffering from Y-chromosome deficiency? Assuming your ignorance is feigned, I'll risk once more wasting my time trying to get through to a lost member of the sad multitudes who've been brainwashed by the pussiest left for the past quarter century. Now, one of the three things I'm not an expert on is the the mating calls of wallabees, but one doesn't have to be to understand this. I understand every point of view, by the way, and can debate them in thirty-seven languages... Not that there's any point in talking to stupid foreigners anyway- they all just hate America because they can't move here like they secretly want to. Just like the females that send spite my way because they know there's not enough of me to go around.

...

* snickers *
...

Did I meantion my lifetime of achievements? Not that I need to establish my credentials to anyone, least of all myself ... <please fill this part in, I seem to have forgotten all those achievements>

...

Are you getting the picture yet?

...

It's all quite simple- black and white even- but even something this basic is far too complex for the reactionary feminist democratic hunkerdown communist mindset. All you have to do in order to solve water shortage issues is the same method we've used to solve fuel issues that we've know about for the same quarter of a century- just use more! Conservation is for pussies! That's right- use it all. Trust me, there is more somewhere. This idea of limited resources is just more backward mealy-mouthed nonesense. I can't believe what they teach in schools these days- the sooner we privatize those, the better too. Yep, all we just have to turn industry loose to find the resources and the sooner we run out of something- the better. Public outcry will be so great that the politicians will be forced to back off and let business save the day! How much more obvious can it be!

...

Still not convinced? Perchance you've heard of ...
 
Weird Harold said:
"Energy Star" dishwashers use very little water and compare favorably to hand-washing. Of course, that depends on how efficient the handwashing technique is. The increased sanitation of a dishwasher using hotter water than is possible with hand washing offsets any minimal water saving/wasting differences there might be.
Thank you. I never would have guessed it could be anywhere close. After working and cooking the last thing I want to do is wash dishes.

Weird Harold said:
On the same note, a little pre-planning of your hot water requirements can save repeating that intitial run-off: Plan on taking your shower, laundry, and other hot water uses in sequence so that you only have to warm up the pipes once.
I'm afraid if we try that, we'll be out of hot water. Preplanning in the morning here usually means trying to be the first ones in the shower.
 
Penelope Street said:
I'm afraid if we try that, we'll be out of hot water. Preplanning in the morning here usually means trying to be the first ones in the shower.

The size and type of water heater you have is bound to affect the planning. :p ETA: If you have control over the size and type of water heater, upgrading to a higher capacity/efficiency or "on-demand" water heater will save water and water heating costs.

However, even if you have to wait for the water heater to recover, every bit of heat left in the pipes will reduce the amount of water wasted getting hot water back to the taps by a little, so the closer you can arrange hot water uses, the better off you'll be.

Also, the "navy shower" technique for saving water will also stretch out the Hot water supply so you can fit in more showers before youhave towait for recovery.
 
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Seacat, Richard and Ogg - I have to side with Ogg. UK does drink recycled sewage from what I understand, and have done so for ages. As gross as it sounds, the water is probably purer than our ground water, and really, we haven't got much choice, if not right now, for the future.

Hi Pen and WH :rose:

I have seen dishwashing companies advertise they use less water than washing up by hand. I'm all for it (any excuse!) :D. But depends on the user and how resourceful the user is - say, for eg, you wash up your dishes in a bucket, then reuse that water for something else?

It really makes good sense that everyone employs good water use, whether in a drought or not.
 
Penelope Street said:
LOL. Like I care what list a fossilized brain thinks I belong on. I read your ramblings strictly for the comic value that stems from you trying to rearrange 'facts' to defend the archaic 'truths' learned as a child. The recurring contradictions are just precious. It's a guilty pleasure, I know, but the way you cluck about like a lost rooster is too much to resist. I guess you have taught me one thing I didn't know- it's possible to giggle and gag at the same time. I'm not nearly so busy now that tax season is over, so please, Neandertal, enlighten me with more of your genius! Something tomorrow morning to leave a smile of my face while I begin my day- that would be perfect! Here, let me help you start...

Well...

Can't say I'm surprised. What more can one expect from one suffering from Y-chromosome deficiency? Assuming your ignorance is feigned, I'll risk once more wasting my time trying to get through to a lost member of the sad multitudes who've been brainwashed by the pussiest left for the past quarter century. Now, one of the three things I'm not an expert on is the the mating calls of wallabees, but one doesn't have to be to understand this. I understand every point of view, by the way, and can debate them in thirty-seven languages... Not that there's any point in talking to stupid foreigners anyway- they all just hate America because they can't move here like they secretly want to. Just like the females that send spite my way because they know there's not enough of me to go around.

...

* snickers *
...

Did I meantion my lifetime of achievements? Not that I need to establish my credentials to anyone, least of all myself ... <please fill this part in, I seem to have forgotten all those achievements>

...

Are you getting the picture yet?

...

It's all quite simple- black and white even- but even something this basic is far too complex for the reactionary feminist democratic hunkerdown communist mindset. All you have to do in order to solve water shortage issues is the same method we've used to solve fuel issues that we've know about for the same quarter of a century- just use more! Conservation is for pussies! That's right- use it all. Trust me, there is more somewhere. This idea of limited resources is just more backward mealy-mouthed nonesense. I can't believe what they teach in schools these days- the sooner we privatize those, the better too. Yep, all we just have to turn industry loose to find the resources and the sooner we run out of something- the better. Public outcry will be so great that the politicians will be forced to back off and let business save the day! How much more obvious can it be!

...

Still not convinced? Perchance you've heard of ...


~~~

Izzat just rewriting my post(lotta work) or plagarism?

Although it is not necessary for your well being, rather than attack the efficacy of the market place in a free society, why not give us your collectivist viewpoint on just how you meet the demands of the future with your totalitarian conceptualization?

oh, and by the way, do individuals have any rights at all?

gee, kid...thanx...

amicable amicus...
 
amicus said:
Izzat just rewriting my post(lotta work) or plagarism?

Although it is not necessary for your well being, rather than attack the efficacy of the market place in a free society, why not give us your collectivist viewpoint on just how you meet the demands of the future with your totalitarian conceptualization?

oh, and by the way, do individuals have any rights at all?
Well, not quite worth a giggle and nowhere near a coffee spew, but at least you reminded me of how binary amilogic is- so I'll still leave for my place in the market of a free society with a smile on my face. Hope you have a great day too!
 
wishfulthinking said:
Seacat, Richard and Ogg - I have to side with Ogg. UK does drink recycled sewage from what I understand, and have done so for ages. As gross as it sounds, the water is probably purer than our ground water, and really, we haven't got much choice, if not right now, for the future.

Hi Pen and WH :rose:

I have seen dishwashing companies advertise they use less water than washing up by hand. I'm all for it (any excuse!) :D. But depends on the user and how resourceful the user is - say, for eg, you wash up your dishes in a bucket, then reuse that water for something else?

It really makes good sense that everyone employs good water use, whether in a drought or not.

Hi wishful,

It's good to see you again too! I don't consider recycled water gross at all- we get our water out of the river and I know the communities upstream have used it first- so it's being recycled anyway.

I'm curious how efficient the heat-on-demand water heaters are- especially since I have to be at work latest and often I have less than ten minutes of warm water. Then again, maybe I should just look at that as a conservation incentive!
 
Penelope Street said:
I'm curious how efficient the heat-on-demand water heaters are- especially since I have to be at work latest and often I have less than ten minutes of warm water. Then again, maybe I should just look at that as a conservation incentive!

I don't have any direct experience with current on-demand water heaters and what experience I do have with older ones is twenty to thirty years out of date.

However, extrapolating from that very experience to the claims made for modern, on-demand water heaters -- both whole house systems and "point" systems -- gas or oil fired systems are efficient enough that if you have fuel for the burner, you have hot water.

I'm not nearly as impressed with what I know or can deduce about electric on-demand water heaters; especially in terms of water saving rather than energy saving. Electrics should be as good as gas or oil fired in providing continuous hot-water but I wouldn't expect a quick response to reduce the amount of time required for the hot-water to reach the taps.
 
Weird Harold said:
However, extrapolating from that very experience to the claims made for modern, on-demand water heaters -- both whole house systems and "point" systems -- gas or oil fired systems are efficient enough that if you have fuel for the burner, you have hot water.
Great! Thank you.
 
I got several rain barrels that I use for watering the lawn and plants. Every little bit helps I guess. Here in Southwest FLorida is getting unbearable. Good thing we got some rain last week.
 
If it's yellow, let it mellow

wistfulthinking said:
We're in a drought and then some - level 5 water restrictions. Spot cleaning cars, 4 min showers etc.

Anyone got some water saving ideas?

I just saw one on the TV where they said put a bucket under your shower head to collect the water until it warms up.


If it's brown, flush it down.
 
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