Tag Archives: California drought

Rainwater Catchment, Rainwater Harvesting Education

It’s Time to Get Serious About How We Choose to Use Water

Watering-76e7f031364af9f0a9a0e8545ae150d3The lingering and controversial California drought has unearthed some interesting views about how we prioritize how we use water. What if there was a way to conserve drinking water and STILL have enough to water our drought thirsty lawns or wash laundry – or to clean  trucks in a commercial facility?

The time has come to get serious about how we choose to use water!

Do you know that only one inch of rain can supply thousands of gallons of water for non-drinking uses?  Think in terms of lawn watering, toilet facilities and laundry for commercial and residential applications. The time has come to get serious about how we choose to use water; the reality is (especially in California) that there may not be enough for drinking one day – and sooner than you might think.

The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power has released a video that quickly points out the benefits to capturing rain water for use in irrigation.  Take a look at the video below and consider adding rainwater collection to your next residential or commercial project.

Infrastructure

California Drought is a Crisis Not an Inconvenience

California Drought MonitorThe news is exploding with commentary on every angle of the drought in California, pitting industry against the general public. With all the posturing of a political thread on Facebook, opposing sides are slinging blame, “the other guy needs to do something” and coming up with “facts” as to why.

A  20% voluntary reduction failed miserably across the board and with 99% of the state feeling the effects of drought and 66% in “extreme or exceptional” drought (according to the US Drought Monitor), it is now clear to all that action needs to be taken immediately — and by all. Governor Brown’s mandatory restrictions of 25% is a start, but they need to be implemented collectively. Limiting lawn watering and driveway wash down,  while a help,  is not going to be the fix. The affluent will simply pay the fines, leaving the burden on the less wealthy, and will also not generate much in the way of water savings. It is difficult to see where anyone has taken proactive drought measures to date, instead relying on “the other guy needs to do something” attitude.  The drought issue should have been appropriately addressed a few years ago. After four years of drought, not much has action has happened, other than to drill deeper.

The solution is for all to collectively to come together and adjust our lifestyle (public) or operations (industry) for the good of all. Simply hoping that the drought will end naturally in another year will most likely end with the same results as this past year’s use, showing more consumption than ever.

We must stop taking water for granted. We turn on the tap and don’t think about the fact that there might not be enough. We’ve never had to worry about it before, so why should we now?

The greatest impact will be made by increasing the price of water – keeping in mind that there needs to be water available for basic needs such as hydration, hygiene and food production. This does not mean high water use agriculture should continue with business as usual.  It may be time to plan for a more sustainable crop based on nutrition needs and resource availability, rather than high profits. Fracking for natural gas and oil in the drought area should be restricted at best, if not halted immediately and the general public should also curtail unnecessary water use.

The drought is a crisis, not an inconvenience. Stalling the fix by means of fighting over the water will end up in a disaster that none of us will be able to live with. A concerted effort, along with a huge change in policy with adherence is needed for long term solutions to this drought.

California has a chance to show the world what its government, people and industry can do in the face of a natural disaster – or they can show us the alternative of what we may indeed have become.

Infrastructure, Rainwater Catchment

Should Economic Principles Be Applied to Set the Cost of Water?

water-168245_1280In his Forbes article titled: Memo To California: If You’ve A Shortage Of Something Then Change The Price, contributor Tim Wortsall suggests applying economic principles to address the California drought and allow the free market to set and regulate water pricing.

Mr. Wortsall writes: “whereas if you have a scarce commodity, allow the market to dictate the price.  If agricultural industries are using more of this scarce resource, they should pay more for it, or reallocate resources to another product.”

When questioned about his thoughts on the subject, RainBank President Ken Blair stated:

“I agree with Mr. Wortsall. The 25% reduction should absolutely apply to agriculture, it is a business for profit, and if their goods cost more because of higher operating costs, then of course that gets passed onto the customer. If the customer quits buying that product because of higher prices and that affects the business negatively, then they would adjust their products, perhaps using less water and money to produce. Consumers will decide what is grown based on purchasing habits and hopefully would bring about a more sustainable agricultural industry by encouraging producers to grow crops that use less water while offering nutritional value.

Action for this drought has been ignored from local government, business, and the general public primarily because water is cheap. When Gov. Brown asked for voluntary restrictions last year, nothing happened. No one conserved. Lawns are still being watered, farmers continue drilling deeper – impacting ancient aquifers, thousands of years old. The ground is actually dropping. The crisis is well advanced and extreme solutions are late in coming to meet the extreme issue.

“”Each individual has to pay for their consumption choices’ needs to be adjustable, based on use. Basic hygiene and hydration need to be available to all – regardless of wealth, so there should be levels of use – and charged accordingly. Business will take care of itself much like higher gasoline prices have; adjustments will be made. Credits with caps, like carbon, could help by allowing large users to still have access to the resource but still meet conservation goals.”

Ken adds: “Pricing is not the only solution: smart, immediate conservation measures need to be addressed by all – not just large corporations. The unwillingness to change is part of the reason California is now in this crisis.

Adoption of rainwater collection is a good start for the general public, as I wrote about in a blog posts after the recent rain episodes this past winter. The biggest problem, as I see it, is that people are reluctant to change. So – mandatory restrictions, incentives, and education should go hand and hand with pricing.”

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