SUZY SUCHE SEZ…the drought is not over by a long shot. The State Climatologist indicates that the drought may well last into 2013. In his report for the past year he says: “…the 12-month rainfall total for October 2010 through September 2011 was far below the previous record set in 1956 [the Drought of Record – ss]. Average temperatures for June through August were over 2 °F above the previous Texas record and were close to the warmest statewide summer temperatures ever recorded in the United States…Twelve-month rainfall was driest on record across much of western, central, and southern Texas, and many stations received less than 25% of their normal 12-month precipitation.” For the full report please go to: http://atmo.tamu.edu/osc/press_releases/2011_drought.pdf.
Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanac” advises us “a penny saved is a penny earned,” which is also good advice for water conservation. A gallon saved is a gallon earned, so we offer the following water wise tips.
Take shorter showers: save 5-10 gallons for every minute you cut back. It doesn't take that much water to get clean. Some of us even take a “navy shower,” which means turning off the water when you are soaping up or shaving in the shower and only have the water run to rinse off. You can also put a mop bucket in the shower with you to catch any extra water and use it to water house plants.
On average, 2.5 gallons/minute of water are wasted from running a faucet while brushing teeth, if that’s only 5 minutes; it’s still 12-1/2 gallons, enough to water 100ft2 of lawn on a hot sultry day or 1250ft2 on a cool cloudy day. When we lived in an area that we had to use bottled water for drinking (or else catch a horrible stomach ailment), we put water in a cup, swished the toothbrush around in it to wet the brush before using it to brush our teeth, rinsed our mouths from it and then used what was left to clean the toothbrush when we were done. It’s a good practice to save water, as well. If that’s a little too drastic for you, keep the faucet off while you brush.
Toilets use up to 25% of the water used in a home. Really. We’ve asked everyone in our house to use the old adage, “if it’s yellow, let it mellow…” you know the rest. The males in our homes are thrilled to have the level of toilet etiquette lowered!
Use a pan or one half of a double sink to wash dishes, run the rinse water into the wash pan instead of down the drain and don’t have the faucet going full blast. Empty the pan or sink only when the water is too dirty to use. If you use a dishwasher, be sure it is full before you run it and scrape dishes rather than rinse them. Most new models don’t require rinsing the dishes first.
Use cold water to wash clothes rather than hot. Be sure the washer’s level is set to the appropriate amount for the load you are running or better yet, use the newer low-water models that calculate the level for you depending on the weight of the load.
Anywhere from 60-75% of residential water use is used for landscaping and up to half of that is wasted! It is lost to evaporation and run off. Adjust your sprinkler heads regularly: watering the driveway has never grown a thing. Monitor the amount of water being used on your landscaping. The amount needed in winter is much less than in the heat of the summer. It’s easy to use a small can like a tuna can to measure the amount of water being put out by your system. Be sure to water in the summer months before 8am so evaporation will be minimized. Even better, use rainwater catchment or recycle your gray water (including the condensation from the AC units) for your landscape watering needs.
Be smart in selecting plants for your landscaping. Tall grasses, shrubs and trees act as brakes for the rainwater which falls and hold onto the rainwater until the ground is able to take it up. Flat lawn areas hold no more water than a driveway! Plants native to the area (not just to Texas in general, it’s a big state!) are used to the extremes in temperature and the lows and highs of our rainfall. And remember mulch, mulch and more mulch for the best and cheapest means of keeping the precious water where it belongs…in the ground!