Water - our reponsibility, our legacy, our life

 

 

 

"If wheat is the staff of life, then water for sure is the nectar..."

 

Those who know me, know I am a hard core conservative. That being said, I am also a bit of a conservationist. Not an environmental wacko, a conservationist. In particular, I am a conservationist on water. I think it all started in 1971 when I was stationed on Okinawa, Japan. For the first time in my young life, I was able to experience a drought so severe, it led to water rationing on the island. It was so weird, because just about anyplace you could stand on the island, you could see water. Yet, potable water was at a premium. A one minute shower once every three days, boiling drinking water after being turned of
every other day, and so on. I hated it.

So what can we do? I know, shorter showers, don't water your grass as much. We have all heard that and they are important. However, there is always additional things we can do that are also impactful.

Capture Rain Water - I know this sounds trite, but this is an easy cheap way to get free water to your plants when the rain has stopped. Good rain barrels are not expensive and range fro 40 gallons to 250 gallons. Most have a spigot on the bottom for a hose.
 
Water Early - I continue to be amazed to see how many people water in the heat of the day. On hot days when the humidity is low, much of the valuable water used in lawn irrigation evaporates prior to hitting the ground. If you have a an lawn irrigation system, set it to start the cycle at 5 or 6 in the morning. Try not to water a night as that can lead to a lawn fungus.

Use Peat Moss - Canadian sphagnum peat moss regulates moisture and air around plant roots for ideal growing conditions. It saves water by retaining up to twenty times its weight in moisture. It will then release the water slowly as the plants need it.
Stay Informed - Become interested in your counties, states and national agricultural business. Agribusiness is a huge user of water. Ever drive by a field and see a huge irrigation system throwing thousands of gallons of water on a field? How much of that is lost to evaporation? We need to encourage proper usage of our aquifers to ensure they will be here to serve us as well as our grandchildren in the future. Viable drip irrigation must be the way of the future for our agribusiness.

Stay Prepared - I am somewhat of a "prepper". That being said, I think that every household in America should have at least a two week supply of drinking water on hand "just in case". Trust me - I have lived where the water was shut off for two days out of three. Not having drinking water is not only an inconvenience, if it persists, it can be deadly. If for some reason the municipal drinking water becomes undrinkable (terrorism?) you will be surprised how quickly water will disappear from the grocery store shelves.

The most important thing we can do is understand that our potable water is finite. There are many ways to increase our supply - I addressed that in my first two postings. However, until that happens, we need to ensure our current supply lasts. Pure water, like breathable air, is something we tend to take for granted until it is no longer there.