210 replies to this topic

[FolsomEJ]

You are beginning to ask the right questions.

[mrdavex]

Folsom's water comes directly from Folsom Lake, diverted right next to the dam.  It is treated and pumped to customers.  Our wastewater is pumped to the SRCSD plant in between Freeport and Elk Grove (right next to the planned Delta Shores community), and after it is treated, is discharged into the Sacramento River.  It does not return to Folsom Lake.  In some municipalities, such as Las Vegas, the reclaimed water is discharged back into the reservoir it originated from.  Or it can be injected into an underground aquifer, and be tapped for use in dry conditions.  These municipalities get "Return Flow Credits," so any water they return back is not counted against their allocation.  Since Folsom does not return water to the original source, we do not get those credits.

 

You are correct that it takes a lot of resources to treat water.  There is the electricity for pumping and treatment, which consumes a lot of water to produce.  I believe that someone quoted here earlier that the biggest consumer of water is thermal power plants (coal, natural gas, nuclear).  Even a lot of the electricity generated from the Hoover Dam is used to pump water (http://www.usbr.gov/...s/powerfaq.html)  Then there are the chemicals, such as chlorine, which requires a lot of water to produce (electrolysis of salt water).

 

 

 

, on 13 Jun 2014 - 1:59 PM, said:

 

I agree that a huge culprit is our landscaping, especially how after just a minute of watering the water just runs right off of the top of many lawns and into the gutter.

 

I persist in asking, does clean water magically appear in our homes with no energy/resources used to gather, direct, pump and purify? I doubt that that one gallon of water that came into our homes is a gallon going out. There is a % of loss no matter what we do. With mass consumption that percentage loss makes an impact. (Just look at how banks use that half penny skim off of your accounts to make millions.)

 

That gallon of "free" water (which we are now charged for anyway) is not free. Where are we getting this water from to divert it to our ever increasing (South of 50 included) homes? How much energy/power/treatment chemicals/etc. are we using for the millions of gallons we pump? You lose energy when you generate energy, you lose energy, materials and water when you "generate" potable water.

 

Inquiring minds want to know... I may have incorrect misconceptions of where our water source originates. Let me take a couple steps back from what I think I know about where our water comes from and ask from a "blank-slate" perspective: Do we get our (Folsom) water from a lake or a river? If it is the lake does the water I drain go right back into the lake or does it go downstream? If it is from the river, does my drained water go downstream or come right back to me?  Are our rivers giant donuts of recycling water?

 

If all other discussion fails, at least I like how much my water bill has dropped and I personally feel better about consciously respecting the energy used to produce this potable water and respecting the sources we take from.

[mrdavex]

 

If all other discussion fails, at least I like how much my water bill has dropped and I personally feel better about consciously respecting the energy used to produce this potable water and respecting the sources we take from.

 

+1.  In addition, even though much of the water you use inside the house goes down the drain, a fair amount evaporates into your interior ambient air.  The longer you take showers, or the more frequently you run your dishwasher, the more water content in your air.  Despite how good your bathroom fans are, they just can't remove everything.  Humid air has a higher heat density than dry air, so in the Summer, your A/C has to run longer to remove that heat and moisture.  Don't forget the elevated risks for rot and mold growth too.  

[cw68]

If you fill a bucket with 1 gallon of water and then dump it down the drain, if goes from the river, to the treatment plant, to your house, out your drain, to the sewer, to sewer treatment, to the river.
 
If you don't fill a bucket with 1 gallon of water, that gallon of water flows down the river.
 
Water is not destroyed or consumed (except by evaporation losses) by diverting it into your home.

So the lake would have been just as low this past fall if no residents of Folsom had used any water?

[cw68]

It takes 11kWh to treat and deliver 1,000 gallons of water to your home. The same amount of energy needed to power a 100 watt lightbulb for four hours every day for a month.

Moving water accounts for seven percent of California's total energy consumption.

Additionally, production of electrical power is one of the biggest uses of water in the US. One of the main reasons is to cool the power producing equipment. This heats up the water, which must be cooled before it can be released back into the environment. To do this, more electricity must be used. The most common way to cool it is to spray the water inside tiers, during which evaporation occurs.

I went to a seminar a few years ago put on my East Bay MUD and was astounded by the amounts of water they said were used daily in just the Bay Area to create energy. Wish I could remember the number.

So, bottom line, every gallon of treated water you keep from entering your house saves both water and electricity.

[ducky]

Those are interesting facts, cw68.  I've always tried to live by the philosophy of waste not, want not.  I am enjoying the lower water bills, but also keep in mind that, like Roseville, if enough of us conserve we will probably get hit with a surcharge to cover the loss of income to the city.

[cw68]

Those are interesting facts, cw68.  I've always tried to live by the philosophy of waste not, want not.  I am enjoying the lower water bills, but also keep in mind that, like Roseville, if enough of us conserve we will probably get hit with a surcharge to cover the loss of income to the city.

I'm more motivated by the belief instilled in me by my parents that you don't use resources you don't need to use. Waste was a bad word in my house.

When that means lower bills, great, but I don't get mad when that's not the outcome. However, it's usually financially beneficial.

[TruthSeeker]

I stopped watering my lawn and now it's dead, waiting for the neighbors to start complaining now.

[Chad Vander Veen]

This is a good discussion and really ought to make us all think about south of 50 - 11,000 some homes are going to go up without a significant new source of water? In my view if a new source cannot be found and the project can't be stopped, then every new home built there must, at a minimum, have grey water capture ability. 

[ducky]

This is a good discussion and really ought to make us all think about south of 50 - 11,000 some homes are going to go up without a significant new source of water? In my view if a new source cannot be found and the project can't be stopped, then every new home built there must, at a minimum, have grey water capture ability. 

 

Exactly.  They are starting from scratch.  This was brought up to the council years and years ago, but no one seems interested.

[mac_convert]

I stopped watering my lawn and now it's dead, waiting for the neighbors to start complaining now.

My lawn is very dry and it is sad. My neighbors on both sides of me have green grass. Before the water restrictions I had a beautiful lawn and yard! (Much better than the houses on either side of me.)

[4thgenFolsomite]

My lawn is very dry and it is sad. My neighbors on both sides of me have green grass. Before the water restrictions I had a beautiful lawn and yard! (Much better than the houses on either side of me.)

. And it's only The middle of June. We have at least three hot months to go before the rains resume.

[cw68]

. And it's only The middle of June. We have at least three hot months to go before the rains resume.

Because of the afternoon shade and the slope in our front yard which gives us the run off from our neighbor's, it's looking OK, but our backyard is toast.

We have these invasive tree-like weeds that pop up from rhizomes throughout the backyard, so we're going to use this to our advantage. We are going to cover the lawn (which is a small patch, really) with a couple of tarps, shut off the water and let the sun bake everything to death. Then this fall - should it start raining again - we will rototill everything and start fresh.

Lemonade...

. And it's only The middle of June. We have at least three hot months to go before the rains resume.

Because of the afternoon shade and te slope in our front yard whuch gives us the run off from our neigbor's, it's looking OK, but our backyard is toast.

We have these invasive tree-like weeds that pop up from rhizomes throughout the backyard, so we're going to use this to our advantage. We are going to cover the lawn (which is a small patch, really) with a couple of tarps, shut off the water and let the sun bake everything to death. Then this fall - should it start raining again - we will rototill everything and start fresh.

Lemonade...

[caligirlz]

My lawn is very dry and it is sad. My neighbors on both sides of me have green grass. Before the water restrictions I had a beautiful lawn and yard! (Much better than the houses on either side of me.)

I have a very small yard. The front yard is doing far better than the back yard with twice/week watering. I'm surprised how good the front looks. The back has a couple of large brown areas. I'm waiting to see what happens, and will decide at that time what to do, but am considering the options. 

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

It's been seven years since we converted our front yard to a drought-resistant, native plant garden. It's lower maintenance than a lawn and we like the variety of native plants that bloom in various seasons. The vegetable garden is on drip and the back lawn is relatively small; some brown patches, but oh well. I am catching grey water in the house and recycling it. We're still practicing "If it's yellow let it mellow; if it's brown flush it down." And based on recommendations here we purchased a solar cover for our pool, which has keep evaporation way down.

 

I dialed in to a program not too long ago about the impact of the drought, the reduction of ground water, how land sinks when ground water is used up, how that land never comes back up (so there is a permanent loss of groundwater storage), how that land can sink to below sea level, and how sea water can intrude ground water. This could have serious, long-lasting implications. I cringe that so many don't take water conservation seriously. I wish I had seen the whole show. Here's one site that addresses some of these issues. http://ca.water.usgs...ght-impact.html .