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TRANSCRIPT
Saving Water
Kent Halloran, P.E., BCEE
Safety/Water Compliance Engineer
The Ohio State University – Environmental Health and Safety
Discussion Topics
Why bother?
Energy vs. Water.
Water Efficient
Landscaping.
Water Use Reduction.
Top Ten ways to save
water.
Why bother? 2/3 of the earth’s
surface is covered in water?
Northern Ohio is within the Great Lakes basin, the second largest source of surface fresh water in the world.
There will always be water… won’t there?
After all, water renews itself…
But consider the following facts:
96.5% of the world’s
water is salt water.
~68% of the Earth’s fresh
water is in the polar ice
caps (U.S.G.S.)
According to the W.H.O.,
approx. 0.007% of the
water on earth is readily
available for
consumption.
What does that mean? Worldwide, over 663 million
people lacked adequate drinking
water in 2015.
2.4 billion people lack proper
sanitation.
948 million people practice “open
defecation.”
Many of the world’s crops are
grown via “water mining.” Others
are irrigated with untreated
wastewater.
These numbers are DOWN since
1990.
For more information, visit the
www.who.int.
What does all this mean? 340,000 children under
five die annually from diarrhoeal diseases due to poor sanitation, poor hygiene, or unsafe drinking water – that is almost 1000 per day (about 20 since I have been talking).
African and Asian women walk an average of 6 km a day to collect water.
The BIG Picture:
Global locations of the millions of people
without access to safe drinking water (based
on data from the UNICEF/UN joint report)
Aral Sea in Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan Formerly one of the four largest lakes in the world with an area of 68,000 km2 (26,300 sq mi), the Aral
Sea has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet
irrigation projects. Photographs illustrating the diminution of the Aral Sea. From left to right: (top row)
1973, 1989, 1999, (bottom row) 2001, 2003, 2009 (US Geological Survey and NASA)
Aral Sea Fishing Industry
North American water concerns
Shipping and Industry
Commercial and
Sport Fishing
AgricultureWildlife and the
Environment
Infrastructure and Water Quality
Snow cover and fresh water concerns
California reservoir/fresh water concerns
Ohio’s Water Concerns
Ohio’s water concerns are economic
as well as environmental!
Ohio’s economic concerns associated with water:
• Cost of removing toxins from drinking water and water bans.
• Revenue associated with agriculture.
• Industrial and electrical production require water.
119,491
Taxes $1.7 billion
Employment
$3.3 billion
Total Tourism Impact
Lake Region
Sales $12.9 billion
Wages
But… I am already trying to save
electricity, isn’t that enough?
Consider issues closer to home.
Water and wastewater treatment represent the largest single power users of many communities throughout the region and the country.
Water represents electrical power
= =
Saving water saves electricity, which saves money
Power Cost to Treat Water
Source: Seawater Desalination Power Consumption, Water-Reuse Association, 11/2011
What is a kiloWatt-hour (kWh)
Water Efficiency
Xeriscape.
Grey Water Systems
Rainwater Harvesting
Look at water as the precious commodity that it is!
Xeriscape
Seven Principles of Xeriscape:
Plan & Design for water conservation.
Create practical turf areas w/appropriate grass
Select low water plants.
Use adequate soil amendments.
Use Mulches.
Irrigate effectively.
Properly maintain landscape.
Xeriscape can provide a beautiful
as well as efficient landscape
Typical household water use
Grey Water Systems Practical Reuse of
“spent” water.
Benefits both potable water consumption and wastewater generation.
Connects non-sanitary drains to storage and recycle facility.
Spent water still has value, when its managed properly!
Grey Water System
Using a solids
separator (NOT
garbage
disposal!) on the
kitchen sink
may allow spent
water to be used
as gray water.
Using a solids
separator (NOT
garbage
disposal!) and
special detergent
in dishwasher
may allow spent
water to be used
as gray water.
Practical uses for grey water
With little or no treatment, grey water uses
include
Irrigation (soil applied only).
Flushing toilets.
With some level of treatment or segregation other
uses can be considered:
Clothes washers can use grey water (or a blending of
fresh and grey water) in the wash cycle.
Rainwater Harvesting Harvesting rainwater can be
an inexpensive method to reduce potable water consumption.
Harvesting systems can involve a minimum capital investment.
Rainwater uses can be the same as grey water and can be more flexible.
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater Harvesting… the
simple approach
Rain Barrels
Green Roofs
Reduces or eliminates one of the most significant “impervious” surfaces on a site, the roof.
Reduce the amount of stormwater runoff generated on site.
Can be critical in combined sewer system communities.
Improves runoff quality
Green Roofs
Green Roofs
Green Roofs
Green Roofs
Green Roofs
Green Roofs
Typical household water use
Ave. Household Water in
U.S. = 69.3
gallons/day/person
Obviously, other regions
live with far less….
Water Use Reduction
Much of the water is wasted by improper use
Use in the Kitchen.
More Water & Energy Efficient
Appliances.
Use in the Bathroom.Things homeowners can do to minimize water use.
Top Ten ways to $ave Water(without spending a dime!)
10. Don’t leave water running
Turn off the faucet
when.
Brushing teeth.
Washing dishes by
hand.
Shaving.
Washing vegetables.
Washing your car
(consider using a car
wash that recycles
the water!).
9. Keep a container of drinking
water in the fridge
Fill a bottle from the
tap and keep it
chilled.
Do NOT use bottled
water in an effort to
save water.
Consider a filtering
pitcher if taste is an
issue.
8. Use re-fillable bottles rather
than bottled water Stainless steel or BPA-
free (bisphenol A)
plastic.
Can express your own
personality or can often
be provided as a “give
away” at various events.
Cutting down on all
plastic saves water!
Do NOT use bottled
water in an effort to save
water.
7. Check your home for leaks
Check your water
meter on your way
out and again when
returning (2 hrs+/-).
Place a glass under
faucets overnight.
Add food coloring to
the toilet tank.
Look for evidence of
pipe leaks.
6. Don’t use your toilet as an
ashtray or wastebasket
5. Put a plastic bottle in your
toilet tank Weigh down bottle with
pebbles/sand/etc.
Be sure enough water
remains in the tank to
flush properly.
Also be sure bottle(s) do
not interfere with valve
mechanism.
OK, so maybe bottled
water CAN help save
water.
4. Minimize use of garbage
disposals
In sink disposals use
a lot of water.
Additional solids can
become a
maintenance problem
for septic tanks.
Consider composting
food wastes.
3. Use Dish and Clothes Washers
for full loads only
2. Take Shorter Showers
Limit shower time to
5-8 minutes.
Consider turning off
water after rinsing to
lather.
Showering with a
friend only works
when showers are
brief, in spite of the
Axe® campaign.
1. Eat lower on the food chain
w/o processed food (at least on
occasion) Agriculture and livestock
consume vast amounts of
water.
It takes 1,850 gal of water to
produce 1 lb of beef. It takes
only 192 gal to produce 1 lb of
wheat.
It takes 1000 gal of water to
produce 1 gal of milk.
Good News! It takes only 300
gal of water to produce 1 gal
of beer!
Shop the perimeter first!
http://www.waterfootprint.org/
Other Ideas:
Walk or use public transportation
rather than driving a car.
Purchase items that LAST! All
manufacturing requires water. Buying
goods that have a longer life saves
water.
Shop at consignment shops, vintage
clothing outlets and second hand
stores.
If you are a gardener, install a rain
barrel.
“Your Water Footprint: The Shocking
Facts About How Much Water We
Use to Make Everyday Products” by
Stephen Leahy
Words to consider:
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle works for all resources!
Words to consider:
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing
because he could do only a little.”
- Edmund Burke,1729-1797
Questions or Comments
“Like we say in the sewer, time and tide wait for no man.”
- Ed Norton (a.k.a. Art Carney)
“The Honeymooners”