Drought Dilemma

Lake E.V. Spence (One of Midland's water sources)

If you're a Texan, you are more than likely completely aware of the drought dilemma that we are faced with here in West Texas....0r maybe you're not. I really wasn't as aware, as one would have thought, of the seriousness about the drought until recently. With the seriousness of the drought, the CRMWD (Colorado River Municipal Water District) has limited water supply to it's customers. With the new limits, some cities have put in place some pretty radical drought contingency plans to discourage water waste and encourage conservation. The city of Midland is one of those cities that implemented, what I consider, a radical plan. Here's the basic breakdown of the plan:

-You may water your lawn 1 day a week (assigned by area) for 2 hours between the hours of 6pm and midnight.

-Any amount over 9,999 gallons used in one month will result in a price increase.

-10,000 to 25,000 will be increased from $3.91 per thousand to $19.55 per thousand gallons

-Usage over 25,000 gallons per month will be increased from $4.50 per thousand to $22.55

per thousand gallons used.

I initially thought that we were good-there was no way that we used over 10,000 gallons of water per month-then I looked at our usage history. Holy cow! We used 10,000 on a low month, but most months we went over. Nevermind the fact that our usage history indicates that our bills are about to skyrocket, but 10,000 gallons? Wow. That's all that I have to say about that. Who'd have thunk it? Let's just say that when I discovered this, suddenly important piece of knowledge (what a terrible citizen of this world I must be, that knowing our actual water usage just wasn't important to me.....shame, shame), the wheels started turning. How could I conserve water? How could I recycle or reuse water? I had heard some discussions on this matter in the past. Most of which, okay pretty much all of which, was in one ear and out the other.....until now! I remembered my days at Texas Women's University, when one of my professors brought up the topic of water conservation. He said some things criticizing how we people who live in a desert want lawns-lawns like New Englanders have (don't we all LOVE lush, green lawns flaunting amazing landscaping with calla lillies and hydrangeas?). Or that getting car washes was wasteful (he seriously NEVER washed his white, I mean brown, Taurus for like 12 years). And he mentioned something about "Gray water" (this idea actually piqued my interest). Then I remembered someone at a Chevron lunch and learn mentioning water kits (I'll admit, I'm pretty sure I threw my freebie in the garbage! Yikes! Now I need it!) and something about rain barrels. It's funny how I dismissed all of those wonderful metnionings back when times seemed good and I was under the illusion that we had plenty of water, but oh how they started flooding my mind when I realized the issue that all of these "tree huggers" were so passionate about was really real! So, with that said, here are the few new ideas that I have come up with to help me and my family conserve and recycle water (these are in addition to the practices that we already have in place like, never let the water run when brushing teeth, etc.):

1. SLASH shower time. Seriously. I thought it would be IMPOSSIBLE to shower in less than 15 minutes and typically used at least 20 minutes, but have managed to whittle it down to 7 or 8 minutes. That includes washing ALL 2000 body parts, shampooing twice (I'm slightly obsessive about my hair), and shaving all necessary areas. I've given my oldest daughter a 5 minute shower timer and she's allowed 10 minutes max.

2. Turn the water down a bit. If you have a shower like ours, with dual controls (one handle for hot and one for cold), turn them down a bit to decrease the amount of water that is coming out. I opt for this over changing out the shower head because I want to control it. I want the pressure if I want/need it, but will totally sacrifice when I need to too. This applies to your sinks as well.

3. Capture gray water. This is any water from your bath, sink, washing machine dishwasher, etc. Basically any water that is not contaminated and can be recycled for other uses. Since we don't have actual "gray water plumbing", I devised my own way to capture at least some of the water. I have placed a 5 gallon bucket (purchased at Lowe's) in the shower (don't do this if you're a klutz...hmmm....maybe I should NOT be doing this...haha). If for nothing else, this bucket can collect the water that we all waste when we're allowing the water to heat up (if you have recirculating hot water, this isn't an issue for you, but you're wasting gas or electricity). I also have chosen to not "enjoy" my shower by standing there doing nothing but let the water hit me while I think or wake up or whatever. I get in there and take care of business. If you're conditioning you're hair, fine, just make sure you're scrubbing your body and shaving while you're letting it set. The past two days I have captured a full 5 gallons during my shower time. So, if you're my neighbor or are just passing through my neighborhood and see me out watering from a 5 gallon bucket, it is RECYCLED WATER people! I'm not filling it up with my hose or in my kitchen sink so I can "cheat" and have a green lawn this summer. In fact, Joel says we're not even going to use the sprinkler system this summer-we'll hand water just to keep the trees and shrubs alive.

4. I'm totally monitoring my kids water usage. If they have the faucet turned on full blast to wash their hands or scrub out their dish, I'm on it! "TURN THAT WATER DOWN! WE HAVE TO SAVE THE WATER!" Also, I have to children who take baths. They get to use the same bath water and we certainly don't "fill up the tub". They did it in the olden days, we can do it now. Besides that, they're little people and don't know the difference. *smile* This water is scooped out to recycle.

5. Use less water for everything I do in the kitchen: mopping, cleaning counter tops (I use the Lysol concentrate, so I'm required to mix it with water), washing dishes. Make sure the dishwasher is full before running it. Put a bowl in the sink to collect the water that you use for washing your hands. Don't dump water that wasn't drank at dinner, go water your plants! Recycle any kitchen sink water that you can (dishwater).

6. Only wash clothes when you have a full load (even though I already have an HE washer with a load sensor).

7. RAIN? I have dreamed about having enough rain to justify a rain harvesting system. Here in Midland we have the opportunity to collect rain like 5 times a year. So, with that said, if we do invest in a rain harvesting system, it will be very simple and small and will basically just make me feel good about my new desire to be "green".

8. If it's yellow let it mellow? We should have NEVER watched "Meet the Fockers"! My husband is trying to convince me of this one....guess I could always recycle my shower water in the toilet.....

So far, that's all that I have come up with. I would LOVE to hear what you're doing to conserve or what ideas you have that you think might work.

I will admit, I'm kind of thankful for this water shortage because it has turned me on to being more thoughtful and eco-conscious and has spurred recycling in other areas as well. I want to reduce and recycle more, in addition to the reusing that I already do. Having a heightened awareness has fueled that fire in me to do a better job and I hope it has you too.

Upon leaving, remember this: as Christians we are called to be good stewards of all that God has provided. He not only created and provided this lovely earth that we call home, but he commanded us to rule over and care for it (Genesis 2:15), so let's take a step toward obedience and start being good stewards of the amazing resources that our Creator has provided for us and the generations to come.