WaterWise Blog

Are regions actually starting to think about their long-term water supply?

WaterWise Consulting — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:57:06 +0000

For about 20 million people living in Southern California, water is not something that should be taken for granted. Due to many factors such as climate and geography, Southern California simply does not get enough water to sustain itself. As a result, Southern California agencies and entities must import water from other regions-most commonly Northern California. However, this has created an environmental catastrophe for many aquatic species, such as the Bay Delta Smelt. This small fish struggles to survive in an ecosystem where it used to thrive. This is because the salinity levels (amount of salt in the water) flux with increased and decreased pumping to Southern California. As Southern California’s water supply decreases, more (fresh) water is pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. As a result, seawater then mixes with the remaining fresh water, and makes it inhospitable for the smelt.
Water purveyors and municipalities do, undoubtedly, try to conserve water. However, these agencies and municipalities tend to push for more water conservation during dry years, and they often relax conservation efforts in years with plenty of rain. This causes a long-term problem because not enough is being done about water conservation. Efforts must be made year-round, rain or shine to make a lasting long-term impact on water conservation. As a result of the fluctuating water conservation efforts, consumers often do not realize how big of an issue water conservation really is. For example, agencies push to conserve water during dry years, and then reduce efforts during wet years. Customers then forget about water conservation during wet years. While this might work short-term, we need to conserve water ALL of the time-rain or shine, regardless of how full our reservoirs and aquifers are.

Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com

http://www.waterwise-consulting.com

Is it really possible to suck moisture out of desert air?

WaterWise Consulting — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:22:00 +0000

Yes, it actually is possible to pull moisture out of air—even dry desert air. This process was demonstrated by Edward Linacre from the Swinburne University of Technology. Linacre uses biomimicry to imitate the Namib beetle. This beetle lives in deserts that often receive as little as half an inch of rain per year. The beetle is able to survive in such dry climates by capturing condensed moisture on its back during the cool morning. The beetle has a hydrophilic surface on its back, which essentially catches or snags particles of water that are blowing by on the cool breeze. These molecules then gather other molecules and eventually grow into water droplets.
The device that was designed and built by Linacre uses these same principles to condense moisture from the dry air, and then release it into the ground for plants. Linacre’s device has been shown to produce as much as 11.5 milliliters per cubic meter of air circulates. This process can be slightly altered to deposit condensed water vapor into a bucket or other device to provide clean drinking water. The project was an entry into a contest for the James Dyson Award. Linacre received $14,000 from Dyson. Swinburne University of Technology also received $14,000 as an award for this device.
Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com

http://www.waterwise-consulting.com

How do riparian water rights along the Colorado River affect Mexico’s water supply?

WaterWise Consulting — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:40:44 +0000

Loosely defined, riparian water rights state that people who own property adjacent to a body of water may withdraw water from that water source. While this worked well in pre-industrialized nations such as England, where riparian rights were created, these rights do not work as well during the twenty-first century. The main cause of problems with riparian water rights today are that there are more people that live along riparian zones (zones bordering a body of water). This means that more people are withdrawing water now than 100 years ago. To make matters worse, people use more water now than 100 years ago. For example, people often wash their cars in the driveways. People irrigate landscape, which accounts for as much as 50% of their water usage.
What does this have to do with Mexico, you might ask? Well the Colorado River flows from Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado at over 10,000 feet elevation down to the Colorado River Delta in the Gulf of California, Sonora, Mexico. This 1,450 mile journey provides near-limitless access to water. However, most of the Colorado River flows through the United States—not Mexico. By the time the Colorado River reaches its end in the Gulf of California, there is a mere trickle of water. The maximum flow rate has been measured as high as 300,000 cubic feet/second (8,500 cubic meters/second). The minimum flow rate, however, is as little as 700 cubic feet/second. That’s because all of the water has been pumped out or withdrawn for use in the United States. While this may not be a problem for us, it is a problem for Mexico. They need water, too.
Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com

http://www.waterwise-consulting.com

When was the last time you thought of a natural disaster in California?

WaterWise Consulting — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:04:37 +0000

Natural disasters are seldom thought of in California, aside from earthquakes. Disastrous earthquakes occur relatively infrequently, in fact. For example, the last “disastrous” earthquake took place on October 17, 1989. That was 22 years ago. Other regions of the Unites States, for instance, must endure natural disasters on a seasonal basis. Some regions face droughts much more severe than those we see in California. Other regions deal with tidal surges, hurricanes, tornadoes, or snowstorms. Should California be worried about natural disasters other than earthquakes? According to the Water Education Foundation, Californians should be prepared for flooding.
The Central Valley, ranging from Redding in the north to Bakersfield in the south has experienced serious flooding in the past. Emmy award-winning producer Stephanie Locher has produced a 30-minute documentary called Overcoming the Deluge: California’s Plan for Managing Floods. This documentary focuses on the past, present, and future flood management techniques and strategies of California’s Central Valley. This short documentary will air on Wednesday, November 9th at 7:00 pm; Friday, November 11th at 4:00 pm; and Sunday, November 13th at 6:00 pm on Sacramento’s KVIE Channel 6.
This documentary includes stories from Central Valley residents who have first-hand experience of severe floods. The documentary also features interviews with water experts from the California Department of Water Resources, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Bureau of Reclamation, The Central Valley Flood management Program, and other environmental groups. The goal of this documentary is to educate interested parties about the sustainable, integrated, holistic flood management plan that is being implemented in the Central Valley.
Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com

http://www.waterwise-consulting.com

Don’t forget to adjust your irrigation controllers soon!

WaterWise Consulting — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:38:29 +0000

Don’t forget to adjust your irrigation system to coincide with the seasons. Many people program their irrigation controllers when they are installed, and then forget about them. While this is undoubtedly the easiest and carefree way, this method is also the most expensive and causes the most problems for plants. Plant water needs biologically fluctuate with the seasons-plants both expect and need more water during the dry season than the rainy season. By programming your irrigation controller and forgetting it, plants receive the same amount of water year-round.
The simple fix for this common problem is programming your irrigation controller to water less (if any, at all) during the rainy season. Ideally, irrigation systems water more as the rainy season ends, and peaks around July or August (in California). From then until about November, the irrigation tapers off until the rainy season provides 100% of the needed water.
Another simple fix for this problem is to install a “smart” controller. A smart controller is one that uses local weather data to automatically alter the amount of irrigation. The smart controllers do this by using local weather data from nearby weather stations to calculate the evapotranspiration rates of each plant type your controller is programmed for. Evapotranspiration rates are the amount of water that effectively flows through a plant, which is directly related to the plant’s individual water need. If you are interested, please visit our homepage for more information on smart controllers, and how WaterWise can help you get one for cheaper, with rebates!
Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com

http://www.waterwise-consulting.com

There’s a Tailgate Party in las Vegas!

WaterWise Consulting — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:58:52 +0000

Come join WaterWise for a Tailgate party in Las Vegas on Thursday, October 6th. See Flyer for details!

Conserve water with smart landscaping

WaterWise Consulting — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:03:55 +0000

Often the most wasteful areas of water use is that of landscaping. Irrigating landscape often uses immense amounts of water because many decorative plants have high water demands. Also, poor landscape design can lead to wasted water by causing excess runoff and even small-scale flooding in areas.

Landscape irrigation often requires immense amounts of water because of the non-native choices that many homeowners make when designing their landscape. In California, for example, many gardeners select ornamental plants for the colorful flowers that last only a few weeks at a time. In order to significantly reduce the amount of water used to irrigate your garden, you should consider planting native species in your garden. Many of these plants have beautiful flowers and attract native wildlife such as birds and various mammal species.

Another significant cause of wastewater in landscape is poor landscape design. Extensive areas of non-permeable hardscape cause small-scale flooding because the water often has nowhere to drain. In my own yard, for example, there is a section of cement approximately 10’ wide by 25’ long that was used as a patio by the previous owner, which now fills with water every time it rains. One of the easiest solutions to this problem is replacing non-permeable hardscape with a permeable version. You can buy cement pavers at local hardware stores, and these allow the water to pass between each piece, helping drain water and replenish underground storage basins. When water is unable to enter the ground, it is most often channeled into sewage systems where it must be treated and re-released into the environment.

For more information, visit http://www.waterwise-consulting.com
Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com

What one company is doing to change the world

WaterWise Consulting — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:27:43 +0000

For many farmers in developing nations, water is the most precious resource-even more so than gold or silver. That is because water is the only long-term solution for starving populations. Debatably one of the main reasons for these nations to remain in the “developing” state, as opposed to “developed” is because they do not have the resources to fuel their growing population. Most notably—these nations simply are unable to feed their citizens. One of the common methods for food production in developing nations is self-production. This is where individual families tend to their small farms, and grow just enough food for themselves. In bountiful years, their surplus food is either kept in storage for drought years, or it is traded in a market for other goods, such as tools. However, families often cannot grow enough food to sustain themselves—let alone create a food surplus to barter with.
There are two ways to grow more crops with water: either use more water, or use the same amount of water more efficiently. One small startup company founded by Stanford graduate students has developed a mechanism to use the same amount of water more efficiently. Similar to a drip system, this mechanism is a tube with holes in very cheap tubing. This tubing evenly distributes water over individual plants, instead of flooding rows of crops, or entire fields. This mechanism costs as little as $5 to supply enough tubing for an entire farm. For $15 extra, the families are able to grow crops during the dry season, likely due to a water storage tank.
By enabling farms in developing nations to grow surplus food, people will be able to trade it in the market, obtain tools to further increase food production, and repeat the cycle. This cheap, $5 device could create a source of income for impoverished families world-wide. As a result, nations would have stronger populations and more ability to create economic change and power.
Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com

http://www.Waterwise-consulting.com

Teenager’s innovation may help determine water quality with a cell phone

WaterWise Consulting — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 23:56:55 +0000

Allison Bick was recently awarded the 2011 Stockholm Junior Water Prize award for a project involving using cell phones to measure water quality. The award was presented to Miss Bick by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden during the World of Water Week in Stockholm. Miss Bick’s project combines cell phones with indicator chemicals, such as Colilert-18 to measure the quality of water. This innovative project stood out against the others because it uses readily available and affordable technology, such as cell phones, to test water quality. The process developed by Miss Bick takes 18 fewer hours for results and costs 1/200th the price of standard tests. These new and improved tests can be implemented both developing as well as developed countries to test for water quality.

To read more about Allison Bick’s award or her project, visit: http://www.siwi.org/sa/node.asp?node=1253

Or, download: http://www.siwi.org/documents/Resources/Prize_Nominating/SJWP_Finalistkatalog_2011_web.pdf

Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com

http://www.Waterwise-consulting.com

Somalis paint the picture of what resilience really means

WaterWise Consulting — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:35:48 +0000

Peter Greste posted an interesting photographic article about how drought in Somalia affects the local residents. Peter wrote small two or three-sentence descriptions of each photograph he took, and explained what each photograph was of. While some articles can appeal to the audiences’ emotions, including photographs is a nearly sure way of doing this. Each photograph was carefully taken to demonstrate the harsh living conditions of Somali refugee camps. However, the photographer also skillfully demonstrates how Somalis are thriving the best they can in this situation.
Somalis have been forced to coexist with droughts for many years, and thus they have evolved to cope with the hardships that follow. For example, some of the photos demonstrate how different people in the refugee camp have been able to create personal businesses to raise money for their families, as well as help their fellow refugees. One resident refugee was able to carry a sewing machine on his back, all the way from home. He now has a small business repairing clothes for his fellow Somalis. Best of all, he doesn’t even need to advertise. Other creative Somalis spend their time collecting firewood to sell to others. One creative man tied some thorn branches together and draped a few cloths over it to create a shop. He now sells small bags of salt, sugar, and limes.
If Somalis are able to function this well in a refugee camp, after living with drought for many years, how would a drought affect Americans?
To read the original article, visit: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/inpictures/2011/07/2011727134147853102.html
Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com

http://www.waterwise-consulting.com