World Water Week ~ Fun Water Facts

The first municipal water filtration works opened in Paisley, Scotland in 1832.

 

More than 79,000 tons of chlorine are used per year in the United States.

 

Of all the earth’s water, 97% is salt water found in oceans and seas. Only 1% of the earth’s water is available for drinking water. Two percent is currently frozen.

About two thirds of the human body is water.
Some parts of the body contain more water than others.
For example,
70% of your skin is water.

 

Public water suppliers process 38 billion gallons of water per day for domestic and public use.

A person can live more than a month without food, but only about a week, depending on conditions, without water.

Approximately 1 million miles of pipelines and aqueducts carry water in the United States and Canada. That’s enough to circle the earth 40 times.

 

About 800,000 water wells are drilled each year in the United States for domestic, farming, commercial, and water testing purposes.

 

Typically, households consume at least 50% of their water by lawn watering.

 

Inside, toilets use the most water,
with an average of 27 gallons
per person per day.

 

In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure that drinking water is safe for human consumption. The Act requires public water systems to monitor and treat drinking water for safety.

More than 13 million households get their water from their own private wells and are responsible for treating and pumping the water themselves.

 

Industries released
197 million pounds
of toxic chemicals
into waterways in 1990.
The average daily requirement for fresh water in the United States is about 40 billion gallons a day, with about 300 billion gallons used untreated for agriculture and commercial purposes.

Each person uses
about 100 gallons
of water a day at home.

 

The average five-minute shower takes between 15 to 25 gallons of water.

 

There are more fun water facts to share

– check them out next Friday.

                            Have a great weekend everyone.

 

Award Winning Film – A Must See! Iceland’s Water “Vatn”

I posted my 437th blog this past Tuesday and thought I’d have a look at our most viewed blogs and re-post some of them again for you from time to time (save you from scrolling though our lengthy archives). I’ve added a photo and a brief bio excerpt of Enrique Pacheco.

What a magnificent, stunning and profound result of E. Pacheco’s approach to viewing water conservation – personify and give water a voice!!!

Your friends from Rainsoft Ottawa know you will certainly enjoy this unique video presentation!

Photographer and filmmaker Enrique Pacheco‘s most recent short film, “Vatn” (the Icelandic word for water), offers stunning views of Iceland’s oceans, rivers and waterfalls…

Shot and edited over a 6-month period, the film employs an interesting narrative structure that personifies water and makes it the film’s protagonist. “Human beings are the antagonists,” Pacheco said of the film, in an interview published on his Web site.

“We are changing the life cycle of water. This film is for water conservation. Instead of talking about water, I decided to personify water, give it voice, so we can hear it.”

Enrique Pacheco is a professional cinematographer from Spain. He has been working in video production for more than 10 years, but Enrique’s career changed when he moved to Iceland. There he started to specialize on time-lapse and DSLR cameras, exploring the raw landscape of Iceland and shooting some of nature’s most volatile subjects, such as active volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls, and the traditional culture of Iceland. Some of his latest short films have been very successful in Vimeo. “Winter in Hell”, “Raw Lightscapes”, “Made on Earth”, “The Maghreb and “Vatn” are all long-term self-productions made with great effort and passion. – See more at: http://www.enriquepacheco.com/about-me#sthash.RqRYUffa.dpuf 

Great tips to save $$$ on water bills

Article from digitaltrends.com – CUT DOWN YOUR MONTHLY WATER BILL WITH THESE HANDY TIPS by Emily Schiola — February 1, 2014

Whether you are doing it to save the earth or simply to free up more beer money each month, there are numerous ways to reduce a water bill. Of course, there are methods we’ve all heard about, such as taking shorter showers, turning off the tap while brushing teeth, and if it’s yellow, let it mellow. These options aren’t as catchy as that last one, but they are easy and they will save you money. There are more methods than these age-old standbys, however. Here’s our list of methods to reduce that pesky water bill.

1. Keep bottles of drinking water in the fridge so you don’t have to run the tap to get it cold. Or put it in the freezer and let it melt. Or better yet, use ice. The ice you put in your gin and tonics can also be used to cool water.

2. Likewise, heat up water for washing dishes in the microwave or on the stove. This can be tricky for a couple reasons. You don’t want to heat it too much or you will burn yourself and sometimes it is hard to know how much water it will take, so it might take some patience.

3. Fix leaks. This might seem obvious, but sometimes it is hard to tell that a faucet is leaking, especially if it doesn’t make a sound. It is good to replace washers in faucets every few years, especially if you live in an older place.

4. Use your dishwasher. It takes less water to run a full load — the key here is full — of dishes than it is to hand wash them. You’re welcome, lazy people.

5. Insulate water pipes. Go to a hardware store and get some foam that is already cut in the shape of a pipe. Tape that to the pipes. This will help heat up your water faster, so you won’t lose as much while you’re waiting for it to heat.

6. MacGuyver your toilet to use less water. There are a few ways to do this. You can install a low pressure toilet, similar to those popular in Europe. You can also fill two water bottles with an inch or two of sand or gravel and put them in the tank of the toilet. This will raise the water in the tank and trick it into using less per flush. See, we still are smarter than the machines.

7. Use your disposal sparingly. Yes it is handy not to walk two feet to the trash when rinsing dishes, but disposals use water, so only use it as needed.

8. Wash clothes in cold water. It will get your clothes just as clean as hot water, it will preserve colors better, and it will save water and energy. There are no downsides to this tip. In fact, there are no downsides to conserving water, so just do it.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/reduce-water-bill/

Here are a couple of Youtube videos that apply to saving money on your water bills –   

P.E.I.’S NEW WATER AUDIT PROGRAM

Switching to low-flow shower heads can cut water-use by half and save thousands of dollars from a hotel’s water bill. It’s just one of the suggestions the City of Charlottetown floated to hotels in a recent water audit. Laura Chapin explains in this CBC audio, ‘Conservation, policies and PEI’s water-use laws’, May 16, 2013 ~
http://www.cbc.ca/islandmorning/episodes/2013/05/16/conservation-policies-and-peis-water-use-laws/

The following article, Be My Guest ‘Hotels participate in a new water audit program in Prince Edward Island.’ by Clark Kingsbury appears in the May/June issue of WaterCanada magazine.

Charlottetown’s Water and Sewer Utility Department has launched an innovative project aiming to improve water efficiency in the city’s hotels. The Hotel Audit project offers to identify easy, cost-effective way for hotels to reduce water waste by both guests and staff. The project will be executed in partnership with Holland College’s Energy Systems Engineering Technology program. Three hotels are currently involved.

“This pilot supports the tourism industry while also reducing the amount of water used in our city during the busy summer months,” says Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee. “Involving Holland College in the process allows us access to the expertise of its energy systems engineering technology program managers and provides students with an excellent educational opportunity.” The project requires students to perform the audits with water and sewer utility staff members.

Despite public concern about the amount of water consumed by cruise ships docking in Charlottetown’s harbour, the city’s hotels actually consume more water than the Harbour Authority uses in an entire year.

“It seems lately that the focus has moved from conservation to trying to assign blame to a particular industry for high water usage, but the reality is that it’s not one industry or sector that is to blame,” says the water and sewer utility’s chair, Edward Rice. “Conserving water and finding ways to keep water use down during the summer months is the collective responsibility of all businesses, sectors, and industries, as well as governments and residents.”

The audit includes testing of all water use in the participating facilities, and provides recommendations with payback periods based on anticipated savings on water and energy bills.

 

OKANAGAN BASIN – GAME ABOUT DROUGHT

This article, The Name of the Game is Drought, appeared in the July/Aug. issue of WaterCanada.
The Okanagan Basin Water Board engages regional stakeholders in a tournament of thirst, by Kerry Freek

FACING DROUGHT IS A GROWING NECESSITY

In the United States, drought ranks second or third of natural disasters, depending on the year, in terms of economic impact. In Canada, dry periods—especially in the western provinces—are becoming more frequent and prolonged. It’s not news that severe water scarcity can devastate unprepared communities. But when people, nature, and economic activities share a watershed’s resources, how should local governments determine a pecking order in the event of an emergency? More importantly, how do they begin the tough process of creating emergency plans in advance?
The answer, some might say, is to make it fun, but keep it meaningful.

This past fall, the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) kick-started the drought conversation in its region. In partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the B.C. Ministry of Environment, the organization brought together key players in government, as well as regional water suppliers, and reps from the agriculture, fisheries, and ranching communities to participate in a game about municipal thirst.
As part of the exercise, participants were divided into teams, given a drought scenario, and asked to identify and work through some of the issues anticipated with a drought, such as water reservoir management, the need for water for food production, and water for fish. The teams were given options for managing their water supply, and referees and other teams scored their decisions. Finally, the decisions were entered into a sophisticated computer program, known as the water evaluation and planning tool. With output from this tool, participants could understand and assess how their decisions would play out in a multi-year drought.
Teams quickly learned that any choice would impact water supply land, depending on how the scenarios were managed, they could increase or reduce conflict within the community. They also learned success comes down to collaboration, says Nelson Jatel of OBWB. “In these situations, it’s critical to communicate clearly and work together. The game allowed us to think through some of the complex partnerships that are key to surviving a drought.”
Gaming is gaining in popularity, and is beginning to be seen as a way to work through potential conflicts in the real world. “When we play a game, we tackle tough challenges with more creativity, more determination, more optimism, and we’re more likely to reach out to others for help,” says game designer Jane McGonigal in her June 2012 TED talk video – 

Osooyoos Mayor Stu Wells, who participated in the Okanagan game, believes drought in the region is a matter of when, not if. “To ensure the most positive outcomes, we need to know where the need for water is going to be, and what the consequences and trade offs of our decisions will be. “Our town has a drought management plan, but after this tournament, we need to review it and look at providing more incentives for water conservation. We want to prepare to be as resilient as possible.” The game has continued to improve. AAFC says it is working on a tool kit so people in other Canadian regions—and beyond—can run their own versions and have a bit of fun in the process.

WATER CONSERVATION TIPS

   

I am reblogging the following National Geographic article, ‘Water Conservation Tips’, and the link may be found at the end of the article.  Please read the full article as I am certain that you will find many new suggestions for conserving water in and around your home.

TOILETS, TAPS, LAUNDRY, SHOWERS AND DISHES
•1994 was the year that federally mandated low-flow shower heads, faucets, and toilets started to appear on the scene in significant numbers.
•On average, 10 gallons per day of your water footprint (or 14% of your indoor use) is lost to leaks. Short of installing new water-efficient fixtures, one of the easiest, most effective ways to cut your footprint is by repairing leaky faucets and toilets.
•If you use a low-flow shower head, you can save 15 gallons of water during a 10-minute shower.
•Every time you shave minutes off your use of hot water, you also save energy and keep dollars in your pocket.
•It takes about 70 gallons of water to fill a bathtub, so showers are generally the more water-efficient way to bathe.
•All of those flushes can add up to nearly 20 gallons a day down the toilet. If you still have a standard toilet, which uses close to 3.5 gallons a flush, you can save by retrofitting or filling your tank with something that will displace some of that water, such as a brick.
•Most front-loading machines are energy and water-efficient, using just over 20 gallons a load, while most top-loading machines, unless they are energy-efficient, use 40 gallons per load.
•Nearly 22% of indoor home water use comes from doing laundry. Save water by making sure to adjust the settings on your machine to the proper load size.
•Dishwashing is a relatively small part of your water footprint—less than 2% of indoor use—but there are always ways to conserve. Using a machine is actually more water efficient than hand washing, especially if you run full loads.
•Energy Star dishwashers use about 4 gallons of water per load, and even standard machines use only about 6 gallons.
•Hand washing generally uses about 20 gallons of water each time.

YARDS AND POOLS
•Nearly 60% of a person’s household water footprint can go toward lawn and garden maintenance.
•Climate counts—where you live plays a role in how much water you use, especially when it comes to tending to a yard.
•The average pool takes 22,000 gallons of water to fill, and if you don’t cover it, hundreds of gallons of water per month can be lost due to evaporation.

DIET
•The water it takes to produce the average American diet alone—approximately 1,000 gallons per person per day—is more than the global average water footprint of 900 gallons per person per day for diet, household use, transportation, energy, and the consumption of material goods.
•That quarter pounder is worth more than 30 average American showers. One of the easiest ways to slim your water footprint is to eat less meat and dairy. Another way is to choose grass-fed, rather than grain-fed, since it can take a lot of water to grow corn and other feed crops.
•A serving of poultry costs about 90 gallons of water to produce. There are also water costs embedded in the transportation of food (gasoline costs water to make). So, consider how far your food has to travel, and buy local to cut your water footprint.
•Pork costs water to produce, and traditional pork production—to make your sausage, bacon, and chops—has also been the cause of some water pollution, as pig waste runs into local water sources.
•On average, a vegan, a person who doesn’t eat meat or dairy, indirectly consumes nearly 600 gallons of water per day less than a person who eats the average American diet.
•A cup of coffee takes 55 gallons of water to make, with most of that H2O used to grow the coffee beans.

ELECTRICITY, FUEL ECONOMY, AND AIRLINE TRAVEL
•The water footprint of your per-day electricity use is based on state averages. If you use alternative energies such as wind and solar, your footprint could be less. (The use of biofuels, however, if they are heavily irrigated, could be another story.) You would also get points, or a footprint reduction, for using energy-star appliances and taking other energy-efficiency measures.
•Washing a car uses about 150 gallons of water, so by washing less frequently you can cut back your water use.
•A gallon of gasoline takes nearly 13 gallons of water to produce. Combine your errands, carpool to work, or take public transportation to reduce both your energy and water use.
•Flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco, about 700 miles round-trip, could cost you more than 9,000 gallons of water, or enough for almost 2,000 average dishwasher loads.
•A cross-country airplane trip (about 6,000 miles) could be worth more than 1,700 standard toilet flushes.
•Traveling from Chicago to Istanbul is just about 10,000 miles round trip, costing enough water to run electricity in the average American home for one person for more than five years.

INDUSTRY—APPAREL, HOME FURNISHINGS, ELECTRONICS, AND PAPER
•According to recent reports, nearly 5% of all U.S. water withdrawals are used to fuel industry and the production of many of the material goods we stock up on weekly, monthly, and yearly.
•It takes about 100 gallons of water to grow and process a single pound of cotton, and the average American goes through about 35 pounds of new cotton material each year. Do you really need that additional T-shirt?
•One of the best ways to conserve water is to buy recycled goods, and to recycle your stuff when you’re done with it. Or, stick to buying only what you really need.
•The water required to create your laptop could wash nearly 70 loads of laundry in a standard machine.
•Recycling a pound of paper, less than the weight of your average newspaper, saves about 3.5 gallons of water. Buying recycled paper products saves water too, as it takes about six gallons of water to produce a dollar worth of paper.

Link to article ~ http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/water-conservation-tips/

SAVE THE RAIN APP – FIND YOUR OWN HOUSE!

IMPORTANT NOTE:  IN ORDER TO USE THIS APP YOU MUST ACCESS THIS BLOG SITE BY USING GOOGLE CHROME, SAFARI, FIREFOX OR INTERNET EXPLORER 9. (I tried using my IE 8 and it does not work, so I’m using Google Chrome.)

FIRST: Watch this ‘how to’ video for instructions on using the app

SECOND: Click on the link following for the article and under the video click on the green “Go To App”. Find out how much water you could capture in a year. Draw a box over your roof. You might be surprised!  Have some fun with this – enter the White House address or your own City Hall address and check out the results.

http://www.apps4ottawa.ca/en/apps/73

Description: On July 11, 2012, Ottawa City Council passed the new 2012 Green Building Promotion Program. Green buildings constitute high levels of environmental performance in design, construction and operation. Energy, water and resource efficiency are a key components of a Green Building. Harvesting rainwater or recycling grey water to irrigate lawns and flush toilets is a significant green building technique. The Save the Rain app facilitates the rainwater harvesting process by calculating annually how much rain can be captured from a rooftop.

Drinking Water Summary data (communal wells) – http://app06.ottawa.ca/en/city_hall/statisticsdata/opendata/info/well_water/
Ontario

Well Record data –
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/resources/collection/data_downloads/index.htm#Well Records

The value it provides to residents: For centuries, people have collected rainwater for drinking, washing and irrigation purposes. With the advent of municipal water treatment, rainwater collection became less popular in urbanized centres, though water storage cisterns can still be found in old farmhouses across Canada. But recently, rainwater harvesting has experienced an increase in popularity in countries around the globe as a result of droughts, water shortages and the rising costs of drinking water and stormwater infrastructure. Canada, too, is experiencing an increase in rainwater harvesting for lawn and garden irrigation, and many municipalities have begun to offer rebates for rain barrels. But larger, more sophisticated systems that capture, store, treat and redirect greater quantities of rainwater for other uses are still relatively new. (src: http://www.dcnonl.com/nw/32111/—rainwater-harvesting)

The Save the Rain app facilitates the rainwater harvesting design process by calculating annually how much rain can be captured from any rooftop. The Save the Rain app also displays the Ottawa communal well locations and associated water quality reports.

Related link ~ very informative

http://www.dcnonl.com/nw/32111/—rainwater-harvesting

WATER CRISIS! ~ TIME TO SAVE WATER!

 

Although our earth is made of 20% land and 80% water, 97% of the water is salt water and only 3% of the water is fresh water. However, 3% of water contains 2% frozen water, which means there is only 1% of the water we can use.     

Water crisis is becoming a more serious now. 36% of the world’s population lacks access to improved sanitation. 780 million people live without access to save drinking water.

Mortality rates remain high without fresh, potable drinking water.

Each year 3.6 million people die from water related disease. It’s time to save water now.

“UNESCO has predicted that by 2020 water shortage will be a serious worldwide problem.”

Let us take the global picture into account. As per a recent study, by the year 2020 water shortage will be a serious worldwide problem. Our water resources will not be sufficient anymore.

So an environmental approach is not only a good thing, it is necessary if we want our children to have water when they grow up.

What can we do? In fact, we can do more things to protect our planet.

Now here’s a topic that should be generating great interest around the globe – something not just to think about, but rather put into action.  In Spain they are definitely working in the right direction – stop the devastating loss of water. As an example, the image below shows the water loss in the Aral Sea over only a 50 year time frame.  This is alarming!

Utilizing a greywater system – eco friendly water conservation and solutions.  Greywater systems can help you save 35% to 40% on your annual water bill, and while saving money, you will also help save the environment and provide a better future for our children and their children to come. With this amount of savings, your Greywater Recycling System pays for itself.

http://www.lambourneproperties.com/eco_friendly_grey_water.php

 Eternally Pure –  Water Systems
5450 Canotek Road, Unit 66-67
Ottawa, Ontario K1J 9G5
613-742-0058

http://visual.ly/it%E2%80%99s-time-save-water-now

WATER QUIZ ~ HOW SAVY ARE YOU?

WATER QUIZ #1
HOW MUCH WATER DO WE USE?
Calculated in Litres
ACTIVITY                   (A)                (B)                (C)
Cooking                        38                 42                 46
Drinking                       4                   6                    2
Bathroom faucets       18-68           8-57              29-80
Taking a shower          33-201        66-237          57-227
Taking a Bath               51-60          72-91             95-114
Toilet Flush                  11-26           41-56             30-45
Leaking Toilet              23-227        12-216           32-225                
Washing Car                 90-203        76-189          65-178   
Washing Clothes          114               85                  133   
Washing Dishes            33-203        57-227          71-241 
Watering Lawn 1          7-372           21- 386         14-379

 

WATER QUIZ #2
HOW MUCH WATER DOES IT TAKE TO PRODUCE ONE SERVING OF:
ACTIVITY                   (A)                (B)                (C)
French Fries                37                 15                 23
Tomatoes                     19                  8                  11
Apples                           61                  30                45
Cantaloupe                   170               193              140               
Oranges                         65                 83                46
Watermelon                 379              190               274
Lettuce                          23                 16                 37
Bread                             41                  57                 25
Rice                                175               136               120
Margarine                     348               221               290
Milk                                230              275               246
Chicken                         1475             1600            1544
Eggs (2)                          515               475              431
Cola Soft Drink             17                 43                 38

Now lets see just how savy you are regarding water usage ~ ball park figures are fine

QUIZ # 1
ANSWERS: A,C,B,C,C,A,A,B,A,B,C
QUIZ # 2
ANSWERS: C,C,A,B,B,A,A,B,B,A,C,C,A,C

Water usage is not something we think about on a daily basis, however after seeing the astonishing figures, it only makes sense to be much more conscious about conserving water – we can make a difference!

… and yes, I know I assisted you with your answers in providing the colour coding – really felt I needed it myself!

YOU EAT 3,496 LITRES EVERY DAY!!!

The Global Water Footprint of Humanity

Angela Morelli is an Italian designer. She gained her MA in Communication Design with distinction from Central St Martins, where she specialised in Information Design. Her first degree was in Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and she has an MA in Industrial Design from Milan. She has collaborated with a number of research and commercial organisations in Europe and works as a Graphic and Information Designer. She is based in Norway.

The Global Water Footprint of Humanity is her final MA project, based on research carried out by Unesco and The University of Twente in the Netherlands, and awarded Honorable Mention for Outstanding WOrk at the INDEX:|AIGA Aspen Design Challenge Designing Water’s Future.

Angela Morelli – The Global Water Footprint of Humanity

Angela Morelli is an Italian information designer based in London. Her love of mathematics led to an engineering degree from the Politecnico of Milan. Her love of design led to a long journey through industrial, communication and information design. Her love for the planet led to a strong passion for global water issues. Her love for science led to dialogues and collaborations with research and commercial organisations in Europe.

She believes that bringing about change is not an easy task and it can only follow from a true understanding of a problem, from awareness and reflection. Design has a vital, irreplaceable role to play in achieving this understanding through empathic thinking and emotional intelligence.