In a dry world the true wealth of a man will be how much water he has.
I wish I could remember where I read those words but my memory isn't what it used to be. No matter, the thought has managed to stay with me.
A class in "waterwise" living mapped out the large (dry) picture.
3% of the earths water is fresh and 97% is ocean.
Of the 3% (fresh water) 2/3 of that is glacial or unaccessable.
In a nutshell, there's not a lot of fresh water out there.
A few other notes worth listing:
13 gallons of water per person per day is poverty level (in some parts of the world people exist on even less)
151 gallons per person per day is the U.S. average
40% of residential water goes to outdoor use. Gardens can be very thirsty.
I live in Southern California. With less than 16 inches of rainfall a year our climate is considered semi-arrid. We are constantly hot and dry. So while I can grow fruits and vegetables all year long it takes A LOT of irrigation to do it. What's an environmentalist to do? Conserve, reuse, repurpose and reclaim the water that I use every day.
Here's a list of my day to day "waterwise" living:
We keep a couple of buckets in the shower. Clean water (water saved during warming) goes on edible crops. Soapy water gets used to flush toilets or gets used on our potted ornamental plants.
My granddaughters bath tub holds soapy water that gets reused, bucket by bucket, to flush toilets, water plants, etc.
I use watering cans or empty containers to collect water I'm warming for dish washing.
I hate letting anything go to waste so once again I reclaim what would otherwise go down the drain. This bucket in the kitchen sink holds liquids (leftover coffee, soda, cooking water, etc.).
The apple tree next to my kitchen door gets much of it's water from what I save in the kitchen.
A pool vacuum hose delivers grey water from my washing machine to my lawn and ornamental garden. I keep it earth friendly by using environmentally safe, plant based detergents.
Rinsing my produce in the garden leaves most of the soil (and some of the pests) outside while giving a drink to the plants below.
Our downspouts are left high enough so that a trash can fits underneath. All the trash cans have tight fighting lids to prevent mosquitoes from entering the water. 5 gallon buckets hold the overflow, and this "uncovered" water gets used first after the rain stops, watering pots, trees, and even just dumped on to the lawn or soil. Water kept on your property will always be appreciated by your plants. When our short rainy season ends the trash cans and buckets get reused in the summer garden.
To save water, and my time and energy while watering, I hang plants off our concrete wall, placing them directly above larger potted plants. I water the top plants and let the draining water take care of the plants below. This works especially well if you put the "thirstier" plant on top and place plants with lower water needs on the bottom.
It can be tough to think of water as a precious resource. It's so easy to turn on a faucet and get all the water we want. But forecasters predict the drought plaguing most of the U.S. (and world) will continue. Fresh water continues to be in short supply. It's never to late (or early) to cut down on the amount we use while reusing what we have.
Be Well and Happy Gardening!
2019 Update: Last summer we purchased an above ground pool to help cool us off during the hot summer months. Our small pool holds almost 900 gallons of water.
Our summer "cooling" center, but could be
useful for other purposes in an emergency
The filter system and pool vacuum are run with solar power and the water is chlorinated to prevent mosquitoes from using it as a breeding area.
Off Grid Solar Panel system from Costco
Batteries charged by panels to supply electricity
to the swimming pools filter system
Since it's too cold to swim, I use buckets of the chlorinated water to rinse down the backyard "potty" area after cleaning up after my dogs.
Pavers in our backyard
Recently we replenished our half full pool during a day of strong rain by diverting rain from our rain gutters.
A plastic gutter directs water from our roof, through
the down spout and in to a trash can (rain barrel),
on to my boysenberry beds, in to the swimming
pool or out to the flower garden
Spring Flowers!!
A recent tally of my water holding capacity is approximately 2000 gallons with half pool water (chlorinated) and half fresh. While it sounds like a lot, it's used up quite quickly by fruit trees and raised garden beds.
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