Aside from summer, does water conservation really matter in rainy climates like Seattle? How about on a well?

Question

Sorry if I sound like an environmental idiot but I have an honest question. What difference does it make if I conserve water? I realize that there are cities where the water supply is quickly drying up, but I don't live near there. I live near rainy Seattle. Sure it makes sense in the summer and perhaps spring in cities that get their water from the mountain snow pack, but most of the year water is pleantiful. Yet discussions of the importance of water conservation don't seem to acknowledge climatic differences. I feel like the environmentalists are crying wolf by ignoring the issue. Can anybody direct me to a reliable answer?

Answer 1

Alot of energy goes into pumping, storing, purification and disposing of the waste water, as well as keeping hold of the reserves for when the summer comes.

Personally speaking, frugality is habitual, If I'm saving water I'll also be saving petrol, electricity and money. It's a frame of mind thing.

Answer 2

Everyone lives in a water shed.  Since all water needs protecting, we all must do our part to protect and conserve the environment we live in.

Answer 3

I lived in Seattle for seven years and I think I learned more about the value of water conservation there than in Chicago or DC!

Keep in mind water conservation cuts two ways -- usage and then reclamation.  I'm sure you've seen all the "salmon safe" signs sprayed down by the storm drains all around the Puget Sound region.

Even in Seattle there is a strain being placed on the water table.  With the winters having been so unpredictable out there it's very difficult to gage just the amount of water available to the greater Seattle area at the end of Spring.

With wells in the region the trouble is that the area is on a fault line.  After the last quake in 2002 a number of wells northwest of Seattle just ceased to produce anymore water.

The two links below can really inform you better about the water conservation tie to energy usage, wise land usage, pollution reduction, etc.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Water is a precious resource and should never be taken for granted.  Developing a conscientious approach to water use is a wise policy.  What if you moved to Henderson, Nevada, or Tucson, Arizona?  There water conservation is imperative due to a growing population and limited availability.

I've included a few sites with great information.  They give it to you much better than I ever could. Water conservation is an ethic I live by, as I think it's a sound practice and one I want to pass along to my children.

Answer 5

world wise philosophies are not only written for you,they are also for people who life outside of Seattle ,and potable water shortage is a real threat in the future .already is in many places.

and you say most of the year so you mean there is time that water is short ,and is your city growing in population and water use ,if it is it would be wise to know of economic water use

what about surrounding farming ????

so this is for all of those who do not live in Seattle

WATER CONSERVATION AND HARVESTING

we should not only conserve water ,we should also collect it when it rains ,make your lawn and garden receptive to absorb water ,and not let it run off onto the street.

And cars can be washed with rain water ,it does not have to be drinking water.

Here is the whole story on the best way to conserve and harvest water and why

The summary for the garden is mulching and lowering the flower beds

having the paths high so that they form basins that absorb the water .

read on

PERMACULTURE ANSWER ON WATER HARVESTING AND CONSERVATION

WHY SHOULD WE HARVEST WATER

because there is so little that we can use

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25% of the planets surface is land

75%of the surface is water and it is rising

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97%of the Earths water is salt

fresh water is only 3% of all the Earths water

most of it is beyond out reach

now much ice is melting and running into the seas fresh water lost for ever.

STORAGE or Location of % of the fresh water

ice and glaziers 74%

groundwater 800 meters + 13.5 %

groundwater less than 800meters 11.o%

Lakes 0.3%

soils 0.006%

Atmospheric in circulation 0.0035%

rivers 0.03%

frozen land or permafrost is not included and represent an unavailable storage of 40%

so of the 3% about 11.6 ,is easily available to us ,in rivers, lakes and ground water surface aquifers,more and more of this is becoming contaminated

overpopulation of an extra 70 million people a year (increasing all the time )and expanding agriculture ,which uses 70% of available potable water supplies ,has brought the good(sweet) water supplies to critical levels ,some countries have been in trouble already quite a while .

Now climate change and desertification, because of irresponsible agriculture ,overgrazing and deforestation is damaging world fresh water production .

It is a good reason for concern and if we do not rectify matters by changing agricultural methods ,reforest ,stop deforestation,become more economic with water use ,stop producing more people ,stop wasting and contaminating water, we will be in serious trouble all round

and could end up looking like Mars

And these are some of the things we can do

tp conserve water use

EFFICIENT WATER USE

IN THE HOUSE

one can connect the sink straight to the toilet cistern and so use the water twice ,first to have a shave and then to flush the toilet

also if you bend the ball valve you can regulate the level of the cistern

Always have your Grey water and Black water separate,so that the sink and shower water goes directly into the garden saving on irrigation and at the same time ,making the sewage smaller and easier to deal with ,

This also goes and irrigates the garden but via a cistern of two compartments and a French drain ,on which you plant trees,

ON THE LAND

Economic systems of irrigation, like drip irrigation

and water harvesting design, using a lot of stone walls ,that condense water in the night

and planting leafy plants ,for the same purpose,

Building wind breaks ,to counter act the drying effects of the wind and farm towards Aggro forrestal ,using as many trees as possible to limit evaporation .

Using shade nets before we have tree cover

and use MULCH

By cutting down the weeds before they produce seeds and leave them where they fall.

They will cover the ground add even more organic matter on top,(you can use saw dust,leaves green or dry),

And when you plant make a little space and plant in the mulch.this is the easiest quickest and by far most beneficial way(for the quality of you soil)to prepare the land for planting.

To prevent weeds from coming all you have to do it turn out the lights,you can even use cardboard or black plastic(this is good for strawberries because they will rot if they touch humid ground,and the bugs can get to them).

Mulch is organic material green or dry that covers the ground,the thicker the better the composting process will turn it in to black topsoil

The humidity is preserved underneath and promotes the development of worms(there exists no better compost than their excrements)and a variety of micro biotic life which together within the mulch produce more topsoil.

The mulch also keeps the ground temperature even and guards against the impact of the rain ,which would other wise brings salt to the surface if on unprotected land.

Mulch also prevents the soil from drying out because of the sun and,wind erosion.

WATER HARVESTING

As far as catching rain is concerned ,we do this all the time ,and have done so already since Babylonian times,and is a part of the more advanced Agriculture,that existed with the Egyptians,,Moors, Arabs and probably many more

Central ,and South American indigenous people had this idea coupled to their pyramids ,catching the water of the slopes and leading it into tanks or onto the fields .

And many others ,today we call this WATER HARVESTING.

Only Modern Man is totally extravagant with the rain water given ,and complains of the wetness ,letting it run off into the rivers lost forever ,With out even attempting to hold on to it .

And then later complains of not having water ,when times are dryer

In Permaculture the rule is to harvest water to the point of Zero runoff.

This means that all of the rain that falls on an area is absorbed by the terrain and not a drop leaves it.

By building dams,ponds or Swales, with inter connecting ditches,

If there are enough of these ;the places ,where before ,the rain water ran over the ground into the rivers and on to the sea ,in a matter of hours or days.

It now runs into absorbent dams or Swales and saturates the ground and eventually reaches subterranean water deposits ,taking many months to do so.

Or it fills up ponds that can be used for Aquaculture.

And so a convex situation that repels water is transformed in a concave ,absorbent one and turning the area in to a sponge.

In Spain and Portugal ,which still display many examples of the conquering Moorish influence one can find many remnants of Water harvesting,such as Aqueducts and tanks underneath the patios ,which collect the rain water from the roofs ,to be used in dryer times.

In Arabia ,on a large scale ,land has been shaped to catch and lead,rain water into sandy areas or to agricultural lands.sand is almost as good as dams because it absorbs water and holds it.

Here in Mexico we collect the rainwater in our school for sustainable agriculture,but it is too near Acapulco to trust the rain water for drinking ,and this holds true for most places ,so we use it for irrigation.

the rain water from a gutter runs via a filter into a tank.

In Europe in my parents house ,when i was young ,we had a rain barrel,where the water from the gutter ended up .

this was usual in those days ,but i have seen few in modern times.

We can use this action also in other ways ,

for example the roof water via a ditch can run trough the chicken house ,cleaning it and end up fertilizing the vegetable plot(this is called the creation of energy flow.

this water used to be Ok in times gone by before Air pollution ,

Today i would recommend it only for washing and irrigation

for more information on Water Harvesting

read The Permaculture designers manual by Bill Mollison,which cost about 40 dollars.

and is the best all round book you can get,on Environmental design,.(tagiari publishing, [e-mail])