Water Conservation
June 20, 2008
“Why is Water Conservation Important?”
Water– H2O–has a simple atomic structure–2 parts hydrogen, 1 part oxygen– yet it’s essential to all life on Earth. It’s the largest component, by weight, of the human body, ranging from 45-75% depending on age and body type. More than 98% of the Earth’s surface water is saline water in the oceans. This makes fresh, safe-for-human-use (potable) water an even more precious resource. Yet we tend to take water for granted until we experience a water main break, drought, or flood.
Mother Nature is not making any new water. All the water currently on our planet was created at the time of the Earth’s formation when surface cooling produced water vapor. This finite supply is continuously processed through the water cycle (subject of a future article),
From a global perspective, over a billion people (one in six) lack access to safe drinking water, more than 2.6 billion (two out of six) lack adequate sanitation http://www.who.int/entity/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/jmp2005/en/index.html" \t "_blank" WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2004), and 3900 children die every day from water borne diseases
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/facts2004/en/" \t "_blank" WHO 2004).
The Shenandoah River watershed is drought-prone. Recent drought disasters occurred in 1977, 1999, and 2002. Serious concerns were raised in late April regarding groundwater deficiency due to scant snowfall and rain in the preceding winter. “If the Valley doesn't receive adequate rainfall this summer, Shenandoah County officials say wells supporting towns like Mount Jackson and New Market could go dry. Officials in Shenandoah and Rockingham counties also say a large number of residents depend on wells for domestic and agricultural uses.” (Daily News Record, June 20)
These factors make water conservation a vital environmental, health, and economic consideration for us all.
Inside. Many of the older homes in our area have one or more cisterns to capture rain water, installed at a time when wells were the only source of domestic water. Cisterns can capture large amounts of water to help people, livestock, plants, and pets get through droughts and reduce the cost of buying water from a water and sewer authority. Other effective, simple household water conservation practices include low-flow shower heads and toilets, and water-saving dish and laundry washers. Even small actions can make a big difference on a year-round basis, like: turning off the tap while brushing your teeth, washing your face, and shaving; fully loading the dishwasher before running it; capturing the cool sink water from the hot water tap before the hot water arrives; using vegetable cooking water for plants (they like the extra nutrients); and replacing washers in dripping faucets.
Outdoors. Water lawns and gardens only when needed and early in the morning when evaporation is lowest; consider micro-drip irrigation and soaker hoses; add mulch to retain soil moisture; check with a nursery or garden supply to obtain native and/or drought-tolerant grasses, ground covers, shrubs, and trees. Use rain barrels (available at C.E. Thompson and Sons, Edinburg) to capture water for your plants and animals, even for washing your car. (Friends is sponsoring its second rain barrel workshop July 14th in Strasburg - please call the office for details).
Farms. Water conservation on farms is an essential element in overall farm management. “Best management practices” are extensively researched and disseminated via many organizations and networks. Among the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s numerous publications and outreach activities are “National Conservation Practices Standards” for topics such as irrigation, pond maintenance, and water harvesting and spreading. These are implemented through state Field Office Technical Guides. For Shenandoah County, this is provided through the Farm Service Agency.
Among the many sources of water conservation tips are:
http://earth911.org/water/water-conservation/ (480-889-2650);
Lord Fairfax Soil and Water Conservation District – Urban and Residential Environmental Issues
http://lfswcd.org/Urban%20&%20Residential2.htm (540) 868-1130 ext. 3;
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Technical/Standards/nhcp.html ;
and, Shenandoah County Farm Service Agency (540) 459-5734.
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