Water Shortage - What do you do?

[katepoet]

We have severe water shortages across the southeast US this year. With the changes in world weather, I know we are not alone. What are you doing to cut your household water use?

[judy]

We don't have it in NY, but we have in the past. I always have a couple of quarts of cold water in the fridge. Living in an apartment, my only issues were cooking and showering, and other hygiene related things.

I remember keeping a couple of big pots of water in the fridge for cooking too.

It's rough when you have to let the garden go, and I can't imagine what I would do if I were farming.

[katepoet]

This is a funny thing - women only - but I do shave my legs still, although as rarely as possible. I think it's a funny tradition in our culture but since people feel uncomfortable around hairy legged women here, I shave in summer and when going to any health practitioner. At any rate, I use the Shick Intuition razor. It requires no lathering time since the shaving cream is built in. It's much quicker so the water isn't running for long at all.

[Tink]

I guess we're blessed in this respect. We have a private well and lots and lots of water. It's nice and pure too.

[DianaB]

We had a water shortage this summer because the flood went over our water plant. We went for several days without water but we had enough notice that the water was going to be out that we had pitchers and buckets all filled with water. The city was put on quite a restriction.

We couldn't run ANY outside water, no car washes, or watering plants. We had to take VERY short showers. My family took their baths in a pond next to our house but I still took a shower. I would get wet all over then shut the water off while I washed my hair and soaped off. Then I would turn it back on and rinse off. No baths. I drove out of town to do laundry. We didn't flush our toilets until they really needed it. We were able to cut our water usage to about half of what it had been. We used paper plates and cups so we didn't have dishes to wash. Most of the people tried to conserve water, but then there were others who didn't take the shortage seriously. The people in town who didn't conserve as much water as they should have are finding that they're paying for all of the semis who came to town carrying water for them and they're not very happy about it!!!

[katepoet]

I hadn't thought about the paper goods - we did do that in the last place we lived.

Here, we've been trying hard to cut our input to the local landfill by cutting paper goods back and recycling everything we possibly can. We belong to www.freecycle.org and pass things around the community that still have some life in them. Plus we joined a neighbor group online - we live outside a large city so neighbors are not necessarily next door - and that group gives each other assistance like teaching you to use your new software or installing a light fixture. It's call friends helping friends.

I think I will email the county and ask if they need us to go to paper or to not for the time being.

[katepoet]

One neighbor told me we had no outdoor water use except new plantings, another told me it was alternating days, so I went to our county and looked up the current rules. What do you think? Are they conserving enough? If you are in the Carolinas or Georgia you probably have more severe restrictions - what are they?

Established landscapes and gardens

* Monday ? no watering.
* Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday ? odd addresses water
* Wednesday, Friday and Sunday ? even addresses water (odd/even determined by the last digit of address number)
* Watering by bucket (five gallon maximum) any time

New landscape

* Unrestricted for the first 10 days after planting, then limited to the established landscapes and gardens measures
* Vegetable gardens
* Limit to any two days per week and,
o 8 p.m.-10 a.m., any day
* Watering by bucket unrestricted

Paved-area washing (streets, drives, patios, walks, etc.)

* Limit to two days per week, but unrestricted for immediate health and safety concerns
Vehicle washing (commercial businesses exempt)
* Limit to two days per week using a hand-held hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle

Golf courses (greens exempt)
Limit to 8 p.m.-10 a.m. any day.

Swimming Pools
Limited to filling required to maintain health and safety

Fountains
Limit to any two days per week and from 8 p.m.-10 a.m. on any day.

Businesses
Limit to essential uses

Restaurants
No restrictions

All Other Consumption

* Conservation by any means encouraged

[Mandy]

We dont have water shortage here, but used to in SA, i remember those days too well.

[rivermom]

We are on a well here so don't worry too much about the water. We don't purposely waste it either way.

It is kinda scary though watching the drastic water shortage stories on t.v. news.

[Janet]

We're on a well too, so right now we don't worry. We do have to remember that if a severe drought ever happens, our wells could easily dry up. We've been lucky and have not had a severe drought.

[judy]

Originally Posted by DianaB

We had a water shortage this summer because the flood went over our water plant. We went for several days without water but we had enough notice that the water was going to be out that we had pitchers and buckets all filled with water. The city was put on quite a restriction.

We couldn't run ANY outside water, no car washes, or watering plants. We had to take VERY short showers. My family took their baths in a pond next to our house but I still took a shower. I would get wet all over then shut the water off while I washed my hair and soaped off. Then I would turn it back on and rinse off. No baths. I drove out of town to do laundry. We didn't flush our toilets until they really needed it. We were able to cut our water usage to about half of what it had been. We used paper plates and cups so we didn't have dishes to wash. Most of the people tried to conserve water, but then there were others who didn't take the shortage seriously. The people in town who didn't conserve as much water as they should have are finding that they're paying for all of the semis who came to town carrying water for them and they're not very happy about it!!!

Payback can be a beautiful thing to watch!

[katepoet]

We live in a neighborhood built on the reservoir and the local council just approved a development that will allow a lot more houses to draw from the same water and to pollute the water - against almost everyone's urging them not to allow it. Nuts!

The reservoir is apparently 5-6 down this year and who knows when it will recover. It's amazing that they approved the greater use of this resource.