Water Wise
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Water. When you live in a drought stricken area, you think about it a lot and this morning I confess I am a little fired up again about the decreasing water supply in the face of our increasing drought due to the extreme temperatures,increasing population and careless water practices.
While realizing I am no scientist, I do live with a man whose business is producing water for the city and so I am acutely aware of how much water people throw on their lawns and I am aware of the lake and aquifer levels as they dwindle in drought times, which, for Texas these days, is pretty much an ongoing situation.
I think cities and states are going to have to make some decisions at some point, and hopefully make them sooner rather than later. Those decisions are not going to involve more water income nor will they be popular decisions, but they will have to be made all the same.
GRAY WATER - many cities do not allow the use of gray water on lawns but I think that it should not only be allowed, but encouraged. The city may lose some water income but that should be secondary to preserving our water resources.
My father used gray water on our lawn. It was a rather primitive method of a plastic or rubber pipe extending out into the back yard to allow the water from the washing machine to flow out onto the grass. He would move the pipe to different areas to water the grass and we had the lushest green lawn you could want.
I have a book with a lot more elaborate gray water systems that I would love to implement if only the city allowed it.
Other examples of gray water use that are fairly easy to implement are using a washtub in your sink to do your dishes in and then using that water for watering plants. The same can be done with bath water. It is extra work but considering the predicament we could all be in some day for lack of water, it would be prudent to take steps like these now.
RAIN WATER COLLECTION - We can all collect and use rain water and I have seen some very elaborate barrel systems and then of course the typical catch-it-from-the gutter system.
Rain Saucers
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I guess the most elaborate rain water collection system I know of was on the Fulton Mansion in Fulton, TX. This mansion was built in the late 1800s and had a copper roof with appropriate gutters and ridges to catch and send the rain all the way down to a holding tank in the basement of the house, where it was then pumped up into the house for use indoors.
Fulton Mansion
Other ways to collect moisture from the air is FOG HARVESTING which is being done successfully in some areas.
Fog Harvesting - Science in Africa
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WATER WISE GARDENING -
The Indians of the New Mexico/Arizona region were much more aware of precious water and when they planted, they did so in ditches so as to catch and hold the water long enough to nourish their plants. While this wouldn't work in areas that get ample rain, it is simply idiotic to continue our white man practice of mounding up dirt around our plants and deflecting water AWAY from the plant rather than towards the plant in drought stricken areas.
We foolishly plant water hog varieties of lawn grass such as St. Augustine when there are other varieties such as Bermuda and Buffalo that use much less water. A county agent I knew was once asked what the best fertilizer was for St. Augustine. He replied, "Round-Up".
There are a tremendous number of low water, drought tolerant plants that can be used for landscaping and many of them are quite beautiful and the result is a carefree lawn that uses much less of our precious water. Whatever your area, researching your native plants is usually the best way to go. There is no reason you can't reserve a small spot in your yard for something special that may require more water but to devote 1/4 to 1/2 acre or more to watering plants that need lots of water is just senseless.
CEDAR TREES - This one may seem a bit controversial but I still think there is too much reason to explore this and there is no harm can be done from not moving forward with the eradication of cedar trees.
I have heard many a farmer and some county agents say that cedar trees are tantamount to a weed and that they use a tremendous amount of our water.
We have so many cedars in Texas and they are invasive. They are not native to Texas.
I have heard of more than one land owner claim that when he has removed the cedars from his land, springs have appeared that he didn't have before. I have to say that if that is the case, we need the water much more than we need the cedars.
I feel that we should start an experimental cedar eradication program.
I know there are some people that believe the tree should be preserved, but what harm can come from a slow systematic eradication on volunteer farms/ranches and document the results of increased water?
There is enough property in Texas that if the eradication process does not prove to increase the water tables and increase spring flow, it's not like we can't stop the eradication and leave the trees that are left. They are fast growing anyway and they grow, well, like weeds.
Finally, if you haven't seen the the following documentary, "Flow" I really do recommend it. It is a full length movie of about 1 1/2 hours. It was a real eye opener to me. It made me realize all the more how precious our water is and what a predicament our world water resources are and could be in, if we aren't careful.
****
While realizing I am no scientist, I do live with a man whose business is producing water for the city and so I am acutely aware of how much water people throw on their lawns and I am aware of the lake and aquifer levels as they dwindle in drought times, which, for Texas these days, is pretty much an ongoing situation.
I think cities and states are going to have to make some decisions at some point, and hopefully make them sooner rather than later. Those decisions are not going to involve more water income nor will they be popular decisions, but they will have to be made all the same.
GRAY WATER - many cities do not allow the use of gray water on lawns but I think that it should not only be allowed, but encouraged. The city may lose some water income but that should be secondary to preserving our water resources.
My father used gray water on our lawn. It was a rather primitive method of a plastic or rubber pipe extending out into the back yard to allow the water from the washing machine to flow out onto the grass. He would move the pipe to different areas to water the grass and we had the lushest green lawn you could want.
I have a book with a lot more elaborate gray water systems that I would love to implement if only the city allowed it.
Other examples of gray water use that are fairly easy to implement are using a washtub in your sink to do your dishes in and then using that water for watering plants. The same can be done with bath water. It is extra work but considering the predicament we could all be in some day for lack of water, it would be prudent to take steps like these now.
RAIN WATER COLLECTION - We can all collect and use rain water and I have seen some very elaborate barrel systems and then of course the typical catch-it-from-the gutter system.
Press Back button to return to this page
I guess the most elaborate rain water collection system I know of was on the Fulton Mansion in Fulton, TX. This mansion was built in the late 1800s and had a copper roof with appropriate gutters and ridges to catch and send the rain all the way down to a holding tank in the basement of the house, where it was then pumped up into the house for use indoors.
Other ways to collect moisture from the air is FOG HARVESTING which is being done successfully in some areas.
Press Back button to return to this page
WATER WISE GARDENING -
The Indians of the New Mexico/Arizona region were much more aware of precious water and when they planted, they did so in ditches so as to catch and hold the water long enough to nourish their plants. While this wouldn't work in areas that get ample rain, it is simply idiotic to continue our white man practice of mounding up dirt around our plants and deflecting water AWAY from the plant rather than towards the plant in drought stricken areas.
We foolishly plant water hog varieties of lawn grass such as St. Augustine when there are other varieties such as Bermuda and Buffalo that use much less water. A county agent I knew was once asked what the best fertilizer was for St. Augustine. He replied, "Round-Up".
There are a tremendous number of low water, drought tolerant plants that can be used for landscaping and many of them are quite beautiful and the result is a carefree lawn that uses much less of our precious water. Whatever your area, researching your native plants is usually the best way to go. There is no reason you can't reserve a small spot in your yard for something special that may require more water but to devote 1/4 to 1/2 acre or more to watering plants that need lots of water is just senseless.
CEDAR TREES - This one may seem a bit controversial but I still think there is too much reason to explore this and there is no harm can be done from not moving forward with the eradication of cedar trees.
I have heard many a farmer and some county agents say that cedar trees are tantamount to a weed and that they use a tremendous amount of our water.
We have so many cedars in Texas and they are invasive. They are not native to Texas.
I have heard of more than one land owner claim that when he has removed the cedars from his land, springs have appeared that he didn't have before. I have to say that if that is the case, we need the water much more than we need the cedars.
I feel that we should start an experimental cedar eradication program.
I know there are some people that believe the tree should be preserved, but what harm can come from a slow systematic eradication on volunteer farms/ranches and document the results of increased water?
There is enough property in Texas that if the eradication process does not prove to increase the water tables and increase spring flow, it's not like we can't stop the eradication and leave the trees that are left. They are fast growing anyway and they grow, well, like weeds.
Finally, if you haven't seen the the following documentary, "Flow" I really do recommend it. It is a full length movie of about 1 1/2 hours. It was a real eye opener to me. It made me realize all the more how precious our water is and what a predicament our world water resources are and could be in, if we aren't careful.
****
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