Water Conservation Still Not A High Priority In Some Areas
Posted by William Vander Plaats on Thu, Mar 04, 2010 @ 02:12 PM
There is a long way to go in the efforts to make the best use of water -- one of our most precious resources. Education about how water is presently used is a key first step. Knowing exactly how much water is used for a given process and what the alternative methods might be is the focus of many water studies conducted over the past few years. But even with that knowledge, there are still conflicting interests in many cities, companies, and individuals.
Even in a water-conscious state like California, there are conflicting priorities. The CBS television show "60 Minutes" recently produced several segments about the drought in California and the nation's dwindling water supplies, pointing out the fact that Americans average using 150 gallons of water per day, compared to the 40 gallons of water per day used in the U.K. and 13 gallons per day used in some of the worlds poorest countries. Yet the message has not been completely received by some. And an unusually wet winter in California and across the U.S. seems to have slowed some of the focus on conservation, as hopes rise higher the drought will end soon.
Take the area of Southern California. A major metropolitan region built in a desert. But through water supplies obtained from outside the region, it is able to support a growing population with a high standard of living. Yet water conservation does not always appear to be the highest priority among its residents. Particularly in the city of Orange, California, where city laws require at least 40% of homeowner yards to be covered with some sort of growing vegetation. One particular family in Orange claims to have reduced their annual water usage from about 300,000 gallons in 2007 to less than 60,000 in 2009 through creative landscaping, yet are being sued by the city for the lack of live plants and ground cover in their yard. Water conservation does not appear to be as important as other factors in Orange.
In other parts of the world like Punjab, India, the costs to convert from traditional flood irrigation methods to more water-saving methods is a real challenge. Sprinkler irrigation has been growing approximately 25% a year since the 1980s. Thanks to government subsidies, drip irrigation is growing rapidly as well. Replacing flood irrigation with either sprinklers or drip has huge water conservation benefits for everyone. And making the most of every drop is something that deserves more of our attention.
Filtration -- when installed properly and with the right solution for a given situation -- can be an extremely effective way to conserve water. Whether it be:
Effective filtration can stretch a drop or gallon of water further, and typically with reduced energy consumption as well.
How about large industrial companies, which use water for a variety of processes? A company which makes steel shelving units now uses high pressure nozzles and a LAKOS Separator to clean the finished product and remove cast iron particles. Similar to the way a system can be installed to keep a cooling tower basin clean, this system reduces wastewater and minimizes overall water usage.
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