Living in Southern California most of my life, I’ve only seen or heard thunderstorms a handful of times and snow twice (without having to go to the mountains.) I can remember the onslaught of February rain in 1997 and 2005, that’s how infrequently we get consistent showers day after day – I remember the dates! However, this past year is one of the first in my memory where we’ve barely gotten any noticeable rain at all and it’s scary!
I’m not the only one that’s lamenting the lack of rain, the seriousness of the drought is all over the news. In an unprecedented move, the governor is stopping the northern reservoirs from delivering water to the state come spring. California will have to rely on other sources of water, but at what price?
With little rain in sight, I’m predicting soaring water prices. Even if February turns out to be a wet month, we still won’t make up for the lack of rain for an entire year. So what can Californians do to save money and conserve our dwindling resource? Here are a few ideas:
- Stop watering the darn lawns! And the sidewalks, walkways, driveways, etc. Seriously, folks, what’s the point of lush, green lawns in an area that’s quickly turning into desert? It’s time to get rid of the lawn and swap it out for something more drought tolerant. This will also reduce the watering of the sidewalks. So many times sprinklers near the edge of the sidewalk are broken and squirting all over the cement – what a waste!
- If it’s yellow, let it mellow. At home, you don’t need to flush the toilet after just peeing. I’m surprised that we humans haven’t found a better alternative to fresh-water toilets, but in the meantime flush every few uses. (Notice, I’m not advocating not flushing after a poo. I still do!)
- Turn off the faucet in between tasks. Don’t let it run unnecessarily. Turn it off while brushing your teeth or cleaning up. If you’re cleaning up, fill a small bowl with warm water and use that for rinsing your sponge or cloth.
- Turn up the heat on your water-heater. If it takes a while for warm water to reach your sink or faucet, turn up the heat a bit. I actually have this problem with our tankless heater that I’m trying to resolve. It takes forever for the shower to get hot, wasting water while I wait.
- Take shorter showers and skip baths altogether. Keep showers under 5-minutes. If you’re brave enough, turn the water off while you soap up and only use running water to rinse. I’ve been guilty of longer showers on the weekends, but I’m now trying to limit my indulgences.
In the late 1980’s California suffered a severe drought and my parents became vigilant water misers. They used tub water to water plants and flush toilets. They watered their lawn once a week and their flowers maybe twice. It became a game to see how much they could conserve. They really didn’t have a choice since the local water company made each family cut their water by a percentage and since my parents had already been conserving, they were cut down to the bare minimum usage. It was a bit unfair really, but it taught us how to live with little very fresh water.
Do you see a fresh water crisis in your future? What other ways could we conserve water?
7 Comments
Water conservation is such a big deal, as water is a resource we simply can’t do without. It seems as though many areas are overpopulated and the local environment in those places might not be able to handle the demands of population growth. I wonder if we will see a shift, in terms of population migration to places with water in the future.
Here (Chicago), we’ve had too much precipitation – over 30 days of measurable snow this season. Another 4 to 8 inches of snow expected this week. Interesting how one part of the country needs water but another part has a totally different experience and issue.
@Tie the Money Knot – Definitely a problem of distribution versus population in SoCal: too many people and too little water resources. If this continues for years, I think people would move away. Not only due to soaring prices, but the fact that California’s lure is the great weather and its beauty. If we turned into a desert, I’m not so sure California would be that attractive. I also think that the crazy weather patterns are a sign of what’s ahead, which is kind of scary.
We just had the snowiest month on record here in Detroit. Not the snowiest January, but the snowiest month ever. It was like 39 inches, we usually get 20 or so in January, and 42 is the average for an entire winter. So unfortunately for you it looks like Mother Nature has directed your precipitation right here in the form of growing snow piles on my lawn.
You’re more than welcome to come retrieve it 🙂
In all seriousness, I know that drought conditions stink. Many people don’t think Michigan is an attractive place to live, but being pretty much surrounded by water, there’s always rain or snow in the forecast.
@Money Beagle – Wetter places are beginning to look pretty good to me right now. 😉 Although, I’m not so sure I could handle the cold! I guess I can’t have the best of both worlds right now.
I live in a very very rainy city, so we dont even have to water our lawns – they are always green!
@Suburban Finance – Those are the cities that should have lawns, the ones with constant rain! Here, in order to keep the lawns green, we have to water almost every day and that just doesn’t make sense.
I rarely have baths, and tend to stick more to showers. I can’t stand when I see somebody run the faucet for no reason – if you are brushing your teeth you don’t need the tap to run constantly!