Water & Energy Saving Products

Water district lifts one-day-per-week water restrictions

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to let the modified Phase II water shortage restrictions expire on Wednesday.

Local governments will have the option of returning to the District’s twice-per-week, year-round water conservation measures starting July 1.

Click on the link at the end of this article to see the attached fact sheet for a summary of the new restrictions. However, some local governments may impose different schedules or retain stricter measures. Residents should check their local restrictions before changing their irrigation schedule.

The Governing Board voted to lift the restrictions in response to significant improvements in aquifer and river levels as a result of this winter’s above-average rainfall. Moreover, the region’s major public water suppliers have been able to capture and store large supplies of water to meet the needs of residents. However, the Board urged residents to continue the water conservation practices they’ve learned over the past three years.

“I want to commend the residents of the region for really stepping up to the plate to conserve water over the past three years,” said Ronald E. Oakley, Governing Board chair. “But we want to remind them that just because they may be able to water two days per week, doesn’t mean they need to. We can’t afford to be wasteful.”

Twice-per-week watering allows residents additional flexibility for determining when to water. Residents are encouraged to water only if their lawn and landscape needs it and turn off their irrigation system if it has rained or rain is predicted in the next 24 hours. Some of the signs that a lawn needs water include a blue-gray appearance, blades folded in half lengthwise and footprints remaining on the lawn for several minutes after walking on it.

The District declared a water shortage in January 2007. Seven counties were subject to additional Phase III restrictions in 2008 and 2009. Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties were briefly subject to the most aggressive Phase IV restrictions when public water supplies were critically low last spring.

• Water conservation fact sheet (PDF download)

According to the EPA, at least 36 states anticipate local, regional or statewide water shortages by 2013. Fortunately, HGTVPro.com's comprehensive water conservation guide is preparing homeowners with tips from HGTV experts, along with information on products and corresponding installation instructions.

Here are some tips:

-- Store rainwater for your lawn and landscape with a rain barrel or rainwater pillow.

-- Installing a hot water circulation system is an easy and relatively inexpensive means of reducing the time it takes for shower/bath water to heat up, saving valuable gallons of water every year.

-- Revamp landscaping using native plants, which are drought-tolerant and require less water to maintain.

-- Invest in an advanced plumbing system to seriously crack down on water use, making the home more efficient.

-- Low-flow, water-saving toilets significantly reduce the amount of fresh water consumed and the corresponding amount of blackwater generated.

In addition to these general techniques, HGTVPro.com lists products to help make the conservation initiative a success:

-- NRGideas Series Shower heads flows at 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm) -- less than the required flow rate of 2.0 gpm by the EPA WaterSense criteria -- for the feel of a great shower without the high water usage.

Summer is just around the corner, and as the temperature rises, so does water use, as Americans head outdoors to embrace time-honored summer rituals from washing the car to watering the lawn. In fact, according to the EPA's WaterSense program, water usage on a peak day in the average American home spikes to 1,000 gallons per day, compared to 260 gallons off-peak. American Water /quotes/comstock/13*!awk/quotes/nls/awk (AWK 20.10, +0.09, +0.45%) , the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company and a partner of EPA WaterSense, offers 10 easy tips consumers can follow* to reduce the environmental impact of their water habits both indoors and out.

-- Water your lawn only when it needs it. An easy test to tell if your lawn needs water is to simply walk across the grass. If you leave footprints, it's time to water. (An added benefit of watering less often is that fewer, deep-soaking waterings encourage deep root growth and stronger turf.)

-- Water in the early morning. As much as 30 percent of water can be lost to evaporation by watering during midday.

-- Set your lawn mower one notch higher to make your lawn more drought-tolerant.

-- Use drip irrigation hoses to water plants, and water in the early morning or evening.

-- Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your sidewalk, driveway, or patio.

-- Forego the hose and wash your car with a bucket and sponge instead. According to EPA WaterSense, a hose left running can waste as much as six gallons per minute while a bucket and sponge uses only a few gallons to do the job.

-- Keep a bottle of cold tap water in the refrigerator. You'll avoid the cost and environmental impact of bottled water and you'll have cold water available in the summer without running the faucet.

-- Run dishwashers and clothes washers only when they are full. If you have a water-saver cycle, use it.

-- Adjust the water level of your clothes washer so it matches your load size.

-- Regularly check your toilet, faucets and pipes for leaks and have them fixed promptly. An easy test for toilet leaks from EPA WaterSense: Place a drop of food coloring in the tank. If the color tints the water in the bowl without flushing, there's a leak.

NRG’s Water Conservation Products Review

With summer time in full swing, water demands around the country are increasing.  Perfect timing for my new review!   I had the opportunity to review some of New Resources Group’s water conservation products.  With so many products to choose from, NRG has products and tips for water conservation inside and outside your home.  Below are the products we reviewed and our experiences with them:

Shower Timer - The Original "Shorter Shower" Sand Timer

Buy it: As low as: $2.50
Shorter Shower sand timer helps you beat the clock and save! Simply turn the timer on its suction cup backing to know when five minutes are up. Save water and save money with this handy and durable conservation device. Perfect for getting into the habit of a quicker and more efficient shower. Blue housing standard with sand timer and shatter-proof plastic cover.

Easy to install, the shower timer is a great reminder to only use the water necessary to shower.  Absolutely every time I go to turn on the shower, I see the timer and am reminded not to let the water go unused but to hop right in as soon as the temperature is the way I want it.  This product is very inexpensive too!

Chrome Spray Clean high performance water saving Shower Head

Buy it: As low as: $4.98
Spray Clean fixed spray shower head in a chrome finish. Self cleaning and maintenance-free. Pass hand across thermo-plastic rubber jets to clean shower head as needed. The Spray Clean is engineered to deliver a great slower with surprisingly little water. Attractive chrome-plated finish fits in any décor. Non-removable Neoperl pressure compensating flow controller produces steady low flow rate no matter what the water pressure. Easy to clean thermo-plastic jets are perfect for areas with hard water. Easy to install – no tools required, simply hand-tighten on a standard ½” shower arm.

Choose from 1.5, 1.75, 2.0 & 2.5 gpm shower heads.

This product is great because you won’t even notice that you are using less water in the shower when in fact, you are using significantly less.  And it looks great too!

6 Position Metal Hose Nozzle, self closing for home & garden

Buy it: As low as: $4.58

Red metal hose nozzle with ergonomic grip. Choose from shower, jet, mist, soaker, cone or flat spray settings.

Heavy duty, high quality with an extra durable cast metal handle. Easy to attach.

This hose nozzle has been absolutely wonderful for watering my new garden and very durable.  I turn the nozzle to shower when I water the entire garden at once, I turn it to mist when my plants need a pick me up during very hot hours of the day, and turn it to soak for my tomato plants in the containers.  My son really enjoys helping me too!  And as we all understand how much fun it is for children to play with the hose, I can relax knowing that we are wasting less water while he plays because of our water saving hose nozzle.

Moisture Sensor - Lawn & garden soil

Buy it: As low as: $2.98
Moisture Sensor lets you know the humidity of your soil. The easy to read graduated dial indicates if the soil is dry, moist or wet so that a lawn or garden can be watered accordingly. Save water and save money with this durable conservation aid.

Head / dial constructed of sturdy molded plastic. 8 inch metal stem for penetrating to root level. No batteries or electricity required. Instructions and watering tips printed on back of overleaf.

This is an absolute must for all you gardeners out there…especially to those of you who, like me, are “new” at gardening.  The moisture sensor lets me know when my plants need water, when they have just enough water, and when they have been watered too much.  In my case, most of the time it reads “dry”.  It can also be used for your lawn.  Very cool product!

Basic Outdoor Lawn & Garden Eco-Kit

Buy it: As low as: $6.99

The complete Outdoor Lawn & Garden ECO-KIT. Save water outdoors with this useful kit of conservation tools. Includes a high quality hose nozzle, hose leak repair parts, hose washers, lawn water ruler, thread sealing tape and a handy sprinkler gauge.

Individual descriptions: 1 1/2" Rain/sprinkler gauge, yellow base stake with easy to read numbers. Gauge measures rainfall and other precipitation events. SPRINKLER GAUGE is a simple and important step in conservation. Gauge is high quality molded plastic with molded stake that helps in closely managing lawn and garden watering. Lawn Watering Ruler: Sprinkler gauge water ruler with printed instructions. An easy and accurate way to monitor lawn and garden watering. HOSE NOZZLE with ergonomic grip lets you choose from 9 settings: shower, mist, jet, full, center, flat, vertical, soaker or cone spray. Heavy duty plastic, high quality, light and easy to use. Our most popular hose nozzle. REPLACEMENT HOSE WASHERS for all standard hoses, hose nozzles and hose end sprinklers. Sheet of 12 washers. HOSE LEAK REPAIR PARTS help to quickly and easily repair defective ends or leaky portions of a garden hose. THREAD SEALING TAPE stops any leaking due to uneven or damaged threads. Save water and save money with this durable conservation aid. A complete earth friendly water conservation kit for the outdoors: 8 piece lawn and garden kit. Comes complete with instructions.

This is the wonderful gift NRG is giving away on my blog.  It has everything you need for ensuring you are not wasting water while using your hose.  We REALLY needed this as our spout/hose connection has been dripping terribly ever since we moved into our new home.  (Thankfully we rarely needed to use it until this summer).  I used NRG’s drip gauge to measure how much water is wasted while the hose is connected to the spout and turned on.  According to the gauge, we would be wasting up to 54,000 gpy of water (if our spout/hose was turned on).  That’s a lot of precious water being wasted!  The hose repair parts are great!  It also has a sprinkler gauge so we know how much water our lawn is getting and it lets us know when to turn the sprinklers off.  Also, included in the kit was another great hoze nozzle with 9 settings to choose from!

Drip Gauge Water Measuring Vial 

Buy it: As low as: $0.35
 

Drip gauge water measuring vial helps build awareness of what tiny leaks really cost. Simply collect water for 15 seconds in the plastic vial to see what's being lost per day or per year!

Save water and save money with this handy conservation tool.

5" Rain Gauge

Buy it: As low as: $2.19
5" Conventional rain gauge. High quality molded plastic. 

Gauge measures rainfall and other precipitation events, such as heavy dew and mist - indicating how much watering you need to do to make up the difference. Avoid unnecessary sprinkler use, save water and save money. A simple and important step in conservation.

We use this next to our garden so we can measure how much rainfall and sprinkler water our garden is receiving.  It’s nice to keep track of our outdoor water usage.

I want to thank New Resources Group for supplying all of these products for review.  I strongly encourage you to use products to promote water conservation in and around your home.   Remember: water is a commodity and so not to be taken advantage of.

Bridget James

(author of) The Curious Case of Mommyhood

While this spring's wet weather hasn't required much in the way of yard or garden irrigation, Georgians soon might be mired again in a maze of new watering restrictions.

Part of a new state water conservation law will replace the even-odd watering rules that the state Environmental Protection Division has had in place with a new rule that bans outdoor irrigation between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. every day.

Gov. Sonny Perdue signed the Georgia Water Stewardship Act of 2010 on Tuesday in an effort to ease negotiations with Alabama and Florida over Georgia's use of water from the Chattahoochee River and Lake Lanier.

The changes in outdoor watering rules go into effect immediately, said EPD spokesman Kevin Chambers.

"The utilities around the state are still working out what this all means, and as far as we can tell that is going to be the major change to the watering restrictions," said Marilyn Hall, water conservation director for Athens-Clarke County.

The EPD has required the entire state to follow a nondrought water conservation schedule, which restricted people with odd-numbered addresses to watering on Tuesday, Thursdays and Sundays. People with even-numbered addresses were allowed to water only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The new watering rule allows everyone to use irrigation systems every day of the week - except between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Chambers said.

"You can also hand-water whenever you want," Hall said. "But you're going to have a lot of evaporation during the day, so it's still the smart thing to water in the early morning or the late afternoon."

The EPD hasn't had time to rewrite rules on water use to match the mandates in the new law and probably won't have new guidelines ready for a few months.

However, the new law trumps EPD and local water system rules, some of which are more restrictive than the new state law.

While the water restrictions included in the Stewardship Act begin immediately, other provisions in the law won't take effect for a year or more.

All new construction after July 2012 must use low-flow toilets and other water-efficient plumbing fixtures, and apartment-builders must make sure every unit has its own water meter.

The law requires local governments to ramp up incentive programs to encourage conservation and requires utilities to start accounting for the amount of water that leaks from water mains and distribution pipes.

Water Conservation Order Put In Place In Etna

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A mandatory water conservation order has been put in place in the Borough of Etna after a water main break.

The borough manager says a four-inch water service line broke on Oakland Street.

But when crews tried to fix it, a valve snapped so it continued to leak.

As a result, storage tanks were depleted and the leak will slowly continue until repairs can be made.

Crews hope to get the break fixed by morning, but until then they are asking everyone not to use any unnecessary water.

"Don't use anything unnecessarily. This is still [going to] leak until we can get that equipment in here and even once it comes, there's a lot of preparation work that has to be done. A hole has to be dug above it, the pipe [has to be] cut, so we don't want to deplete the storage tanks too much," Etna Borough Manager Mary Ellen Ramage said.

At one point, officials said 25 homes were without water, but service has since been restored.

Today marks the beginning of our Earth Week or "National Environmental Education Week" and to launch it off properly, I thought I would write about one easy and simple way I found to conserve water in our homes.

It's called a "Toilet Tank Saver", it costs only $3.49 for one and it can be installed in any toilet.  It was so easy to "install".  First, you fill the water saver with tap water to the fill line.  Next, you flush your toilet so all the water out of the tank drains.  Then, you place the water saver into the tank so that less water is needed to refill the toilet tank.  Although this may seem like all too much of an easy task to make a difference in water usage...it actually will be saving our home up to 2 1/2 quarts of water with every flush.  Just think of how many times we flush our toilets each day.  That is A LOT of water saved in one year!!!

A company called New Resources Group sells other unique home utility parts that will help your home reduce energy used and conserve water.  Check out their web site here to see all of their products available and order your toilet saver today!  The earth will thank you for it:)

  “NRCS is seeking applications which will assist producers in using market-based approaches to conservation and innovative technologies that can put conservation on the land,” said Jodi Hastings, NRCS state resource conservationist of Lakewood. “We’re also looking for projects that will find solutions to improve water, soil and air quality; improve nutrient management; enhance wildlife habitat and pollinator populations; and that deal with emerging issues including energy conservation and specialty crops.”

   Applications are due by Monday.

   CIG is a component of NRCS's Environmental Quality Incentives Program, a voluntary conservation program that provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers who face threats to soil, water, air and related natural resources on their land.

  Another $20 million is available through the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program.

   The focus of water enhancement activities within the program includes water quality or water conservation plan development.

   Applications are due by May 17.

    For information, contact area NRCS offices or visit the Web sites.

April Is Water Conservation Month

There are a number of things you can do around your home to increase water efficiency and decrease unnecessary waste.

The Rice Soil and Water Conservation District continually advocates for raingardens in the area. Raingardens, such as the one shown here, help minimize the amount of run-off rainwater with chemicals in it entering public waters. (Submitted photo) Beautifying their Dundas property led husband and wife Steve Albers and Cathy Larson to install a raingarden in the fall of 2007. While the garden displays a variety of flowers and plants that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, it also serves a practical purpose. A raingarden is a shallow depression in the ground that collects rainwater, said Danielle Waldschmidt, stormwater technician with the Rice Soil and Water Conservation District. Raingardens act as a filter to remove harmful chemicals and pollutants. Water that enters a raingarden is either used by the plants or percolates through the soil, refreshing the ground water supply, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Dick Huston, a representative of the SWCD’s board of supervisors, said raingardens play a key role in keeping Minnesota water sources as clean as possible. He said for every homeowner who uses chemicals in their yards to get the greenest grass, those chemicals often wash away to the gutters, sewers and eventually, water. “Stopping that and putting it in the soil ... the soil will help bleach that out and prevent that going into our lakes and rivers,” he said. But it’s not only raingardens that can help mitigate issues with the quality of water. Steve Pahs, district manager of SWCD, said rain barrels, a specially-constructed barrel aimed at collecting rainwater that pours out roof gutters, can help as well. What’s best about rain barrels, Pahs said, is what’s good for the environment is also good for the pocketbooks of those who use the rain barrels. “They help reduce the amount of water that runs off buildings and contribute to flash flooding on streams and lake levels,” he said. “They also, for the home owner, save them money because they don’t have to pay for that water.” For those who do a great deal of watering around the house, whether the yard, plants or garden, the water collected by the rain barrels can help save on the water bill. Beyond that, when water restrictions are put in place and residents are limited to the amount of water they can use, a rain barrel can come in handy for yellow grass. The water is typically better for the plants, too, Pahs said, because the water isn’t as hard as the water being pumped from the ground. According to the DNR, rainwater is naturally “soft,” because it doesn’t have chlorine, lime or calcium in it like municipal water does. An update to the state’s impaired water list shows there are 3,049 impairments on 388 rivers and 647 lakes, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Impaired water is defined as water not meeting state water quality standards based on various criteria, including clarity and algae growth. According to the most recent data provided by the MPCA, Rice County has 29 impairments. Huston says the more raingardens and rain barrels spread throughout the area, the better the chance the waters have to improve. “They’re really important,” he said.

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TORONTO — According to the Canadian Water Attitudes Study, water conservation efforts in Canada are declining, The Vancouver Sun reported.

Conducted by the Royal Bank and Unilever, the study showed that almost 80 percent of Canadians make a concerted effort to conserve water, but 50 percent of the country leaves the tap running while washing dishes and 20 percent hose down their driveways, according to the story.

“Canadians say they are much more concerned about the availability and quantity of fresh water than any other natural resource, yet their efforts to conserve water are actually decreasing,” said Bob Sandford, the chairman of Canadian Partnership Initiative of the UN Water for Life Decade.

Now is as good a time as any to fix that leaky faucet -- it's "Fix a Leak Week"!

In recognition of Governor Schwarzenegger's request that Californian's step up their water conservation efforts -- the City of Fresno is reminding residents to cap those leaks.

On average -- more than 10-thousand gallons of water is wasted per household every year due to leaky faucets and toilets.

Simple ways to save water include:

* Replacing old toilets with low flow toilets and/or adjust toilet floats.

* Watering landscapes only when necessary and avoid over-watering.

* Using automatic shut off nozzles on all garden hoses.

* Teaching children to turn off the water when brushing their teeth.

Much of the nation may be snow-weary, but farmers and ranchers who rely on winter snowpack in the northern Rockies for irrigation during the dry months of the growing season could face water shortages this summer unless more snow arrives soon.

Wet spring and summer conditions in 2008 and 2009 helped pull the region out of a decade-long drought, but now hydrologists are once again reporting below-average mountain snowpack throughout much of the northern Rockies.

As of early March, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, snowpack was at or near record low levels in many locations from northeastern Utah northward along and near the Idaho border with Montana and Wyoming.

In Spokane, Wash., the winter of 2009-10 has been the least snowy on record, with a mere 13.7 inches of snowfall recorded so far, according to the National Weather Service. The city usually averages more than 46 inches of snow each winter. Experts are concerned that it could be a long summer for irrigators unless the region experiences the kinds of snowfalls that have buried other parts of the country in recent weeks.

MID-WINTER: Sierra snowpack below average

LAST SPRING: Colorado's snowpack slides despite storms

"There's not much time to make it up," said hydrologist Phil Morrisey of the Natural Resource Conservation Service in Idaho. "Even an abundant snowfall in March would be unlikely to make much of a difference this late in the season."

Some river basins in eastern Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana are below 50% of their average seasonal snowpack for this time of year, according to Conservation Service snow monitoring data

In the lower Yakima River basin in south-central Washington, snowpack is at about 80% of normal. Conservation Service hydrologist Scott Pattee said four of five reservoirs there will not fill to capacity this spring, which could mean trouble for farmers.

"It's going to mean water rationing for junior water-rights holders," Pattee said. Junior water rights are those issued most recently, he explained. Senior water-rights holders have first rights to irrigation waters. According to hydrologists across the region, most Rocky Mountain river basins typically accumulate 80% to 85% of their seasonal snow by March 1. They said April 1 is when most states in the region reach the peak snowpack.

Long-term forecasts suggest that warm and dry conditions will persist in the final month of the snowy season, meaning many areas have already reached their peak for the season, Pattee said.

The same El Niño climate pattern that brought loads of much-needed moisture to drought-stricken areas through the Southwest, including the typically dry deserts of Southern California and eastern Arizona, is to blame for the drier than usual winter in the northern tier, Pattee said.

Water scofflaws: Go soak your heads (under a low-flow showerhead)

After years of inaction, blatant and willful violations of federal law, and lack of enforcement by previous administrations, the U.S. Department of Energy has just announced that they intend to pursue enforcement actions against the manufacturers of water-using appliances that violate national water and energy savings laws that have been on the books for nearly 20 years.

A number of very simple, but important, water-using fixtures can be designed to work beautifully and yet save enormous amounts of water. That was the idea behind the water-efficiency standards that passed with the National Energy Policy Act of 1992 (yes, 1992!). That law put in place rules for manufacturers of toilets, showerheads, and faucets. And since those rules went into effect, a huge amount of water, and energy, and money has been saved.

But like all rules and regulations, they are only as good as society's willingness to follow them and government's willingness to enforce them. Almost all of the major manufacturers have done a great job in producing high-quality fixtures that meet the standards. But a few manufacturers have flouted the law by either failing to ensure that their water fixtures met the national standards, or by failing to prove it to federal regulators. And until recently, federal regulators looked the other way, or didn't look at all. (Of course, this isn't the only instance of the complete failure of the federal government to enforce rules already in place to protect the environment, nor is it the most egregious). Five years ago, the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute, California Urban Water Conservation Council, East Bay Municipal Utilities District, and the City of Seattle notified federal and state agencies of independent test results for some commercial showerheads showing blatant violations of the National Energy Policy Act. Yet no action was taken at the time.

That is changing. A couple of weeks ago, the US Department of Energy's Office of the General Counsel issued "Notices of Proposed Civil Penalties" to four manufacturers of showerheads for failing to certify that their products meet the standard flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute. Unless the manufacturers satisfy the DoE within thirty days, the Department will file action either in District Court or with an Administrative Law Judge.

Water Number: $3,475,120. This is the total of the proposed civil penalties the Department of Energy will impose on these four manufacturers if they fail to certify that their products meet the conservation standards of the law. The cost to society in lost water, higher energy use, unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions, and money out of pocket for homeowners is far, far higher.

Why is this such a big deal, beyond the fact that the law is the law? Water-efficient fixtures save water, energy, wastewater treatment costs, water purification costs, and money for homeowners. When water utility demand is reduced by improvements in efficiency, new costly investment in water supply can be delayed or even prevented. And the numbers add up:

A ten-minute shower using a showerhead that uses 5 gallons per minute, as opposed to one that meets the standard of 2.5 gallons per minute, will use an extra 25 gallons of water. If you take a shower every other day, this could save as much as 4500 gallons of water per year. 4500 gallons would cost me around $30, including my water and wastewater and local sewer costs. But it would also cost me another $14 in natural gas costs just to heat that extra water. That's around $44 a year in savings from an efficient showerhead, which typically costs just a few tens of dollars to buy and install. And these savings come year after year after year. And some of the showerheads found to be violating the standards used 12 or 13 gallons per minute, not just 5. [Another problem is plumbers and architects who are starting to install shower "systems" with multiple showerheads. Each single showerhead might meet the federal standard, but this loophole is certainly a violation of the spirit of the law.]

Source: Peter Gleick

This showerhead is highly efficient (under 2 gallons per minute) and gives a great shower.

Multiply that waste over the population of California, or the United States, and the water and energy savings are massive. In the Pacific Institute's 2003 report on the potential for urban water efficiency improvements, we estimated that if all remaining inefficient California showerheads were swapped out for water-efficient models, they would save 40 billion gallons a year now being used wastefully for showers. And some of the newest, well-designed showerheads flow at 1.5 gallons per minute -- another massive improvement even over the federal standard of 2.5 gpm.

Some studies suggest that shower length can go up when low-flow showerheads are installed, though others actually have found a drop in shower duration. And no doubt some readers will complain about how crummy their showers feel. But well-designed showerheads, even low-flow showerheads, feel great. If you don't like your low-flow showerhead because of the feel, get a good one and maintain it -- the expense is small.

Water resource management, to which water conservation is a critical component, demands that we ensure the efficient use of this resource that is increasingly becoming scarce. Water resources have a direct relationship with economic activities and population growth.

The government has directed all government agencies to lead in water conservation measures to mitigate the possible detrimental effects of the looming water crisis. Members of the Cabinet have been urged to set the example in their respective offices in conserving this vital life-giving and life-sustaining resource.

For its part, the private sector is strongly urged to undertake a comprehensive and integrated plan to address the possible effects of the El Niño phenomenon, which could result in P20 billion loss to the economy in the next six months, and affect 543,844.8 hectares of rice lands, 273,411.6 hectares of cornfields, and pose a threat to around 16,992 hectares of fishery areas.

With the onset of the summer months and the impending El Niño phenomenon, we could really use some water conservation tips. On the part of government, there are initiatives to encourage the conservation of dam water, do cloud seeding in areas already affected by the dry spell and during the summer months.

One source has it that running a faucet for five minutes uses as much electricity (for water purification, delivery, and treatment) as burning a 60 watt light bulb for 14 hours. The same source estimates our average consumption per day for taking a bath can use 37 gallons of water; using a shower, 40 gallons; washing dishes by hand, 20 galllons; and toilet flushing, around 100 gallons. In the average home, toilet flushing accounts for about 800 gallons of water per week. These quantities are on top a few liters of water we consume daily for drinking and cooking.

Households, which consume the most quantity of water daily for their myriad activities, are enjoined to do their part to help ensure a steady supply of this vital resource, which would redound to a significant amount of savings and monetary terms

A group of 32 excited fourth- and fifth-graders from Saint Raphael School gathered at the lip of Bon Tempe Reservoir last week on Mount Tamalpais to learn a little about where their water comes from.

The field trip is part of a new program launched by the Marin Municipal Water District to get children thinking not only about the county's limited water supply but the environment that surrounds it.

"It gives them an appreciation for where their water comes from and that it is a limited resource," said Craig Lauridsen of the district's water conservation department, who spoke to the students. "It's also a great outdoor learning experience."

He gave them some facts and figures to think about:

- The district produces an average of 25 million gallons of water a day, enough to fill a garden hose long enough to wrap around Earth 12 times.

- Less than 1 percent of water produced by the district is used for drinking.

- It costs 75 cents to fill a year's worth of water bottles from the tap, versus more than $1,000 if the bottles are bought from a store.

AmeriCorps volunteers also lead the giggling, smiling students in a game of rock, paper, scissors to show them how the food chain works. Students paired off, and those who won climbed the chain moving from grass seeds to field mice, to snakes and then hawks, until returning back to Earth.

Sarah Weiss, fifth-grade teacher at Saint Raphael, watched as her students played the game.

"We try to talk about recycling,

and we study water use in class and will look at the food chain, too," Weiss said. "This is a really good hands-on opportunity for the students." Parent Roberto Cortez liked the discussion of water. "It gives them a good sense from where the most precious thing comes from. It's not from the faucet," he said. His daughter Cassandra, 9, a fourth-grader, was nearby picking up an orange weed wrench. Part of the program included students pulling out French broom, an invasive on the watershed that chokes out native plants. "We learned about the food chain and water," Cassandra said, as she lugged a wrench. "I like it." Suzanne Whelan, watershed volunteer coordinator, said the program has been a success and is fully booked. "It's not only about keeping the water clean for us, but about the plants and animals we share the area with," Whelan said. "It's a chance for them to get out and have a little fun while learning. It's been great so far.">

As warmer months near, Santa Barbara city officials are urging local residents to learn more about drought-resistant plants and water-conserving irrigation techniques via a CD and DVD available through the city’s Water Conservation Program.

The CD, titled “Water Wise Gardening in Santa Barbara County,” features a database of searchable information on more than 1,000 drought-resistant plants, more than 300 photos of garden tours, and helpful facts and resources on gardening designs and practices.

The “Laundry to Landscape” DVD offers instructions on how to install an irrigation system using graywater from a washing machine. The 90-minute program is hosted by ecological designer Art Ludwig and includes information on tools, parts and installation tricks.

The state recently approved the installation of graywater systems without building permits, allowing local homeowners to install a laundry-to-landscape water system without a permit.

The CD and DVD can be borrowed from the library, picked up for free from the city’s water program at 630 Garden St., or seen online at www.sbwater.org. More information is available at www.santabarbaraca.gov/water or by calling the water conservation hotline at 564-5460.

Though heavy rains have moistened Southern California's dry soil, it hasn't lessened the state's dehydrated condition or provided any long-term answers to its water woes.

"We're still in a drought," said Debby Figoni, conservation specialist/education coordinator for the Chino Basin Water Conservation District (CBWCD).

"Cutting back on water usage will conserve our resources, be better for the environment and benefit everyone. So many people want to conserve - they just don't know how," she said.

The CBWCD is taking people from just wanting to conserve water to conserving water - by showing them how.

Based in Montclair, the CBWCD is a public agency serving Chino, Montclair and parts of Chino Hills, Upland, Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga.

Its mission is to protect the Chino Groundwater Basin, educate individuals and organizations in water conservation and promote the efficient use of water resources.

In helping to meet its goal, the CBWCD has started free, user-friendly workshops that offer the public useful tips on being water wise. The workshops are open to anyone.

"Water Wise Gardening (The Basics) is like Water Wise Landscaping 101," Figoni said. "It sets a foundation and is a gateway to other workshops."

Those who attend Water Wise Gardening (The Basics) will leave with the knowledge and ability to go home and make changes that will have a positive impact on their water consumption.

The workshops

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are on site in the district's conference room and includes an informative tour of its beautifully maintained garden that's filled with many examples of drought-tolerant plants, ground cover and foliage.

Other workshops include:

• Water Wise Gardening: Irrigation, Soil and Fertilizers

• Water Wise Gardening: Plants and Planting

• Water Wise Gardening: Preparation and Design

• Water Wise Gardening: Maintenance, Pruning and Integrated Pest Management

• Backyard Composting.

Informative handouts will be provided with each workshop and there is always plenty of printed material available at the CBWCD office on water-saving tips, water- wise nurseries and a plant list.

"About 60 percent of the water the typical household uses comes from outside irrigation," Figoni said. "We can teach people how to remove their water-guzzling lawns and replace them with water wise wonderlands."

Attending the workshops will teach participants how to implement drought-tolerant landscaping that can reduce water consumption up to 40 percent.

Water wise gardening is also economical, Figoni said. "If you put in the right plants, the need and cost for pesticides and fertilizer goes way down," she said. "Everything will grow more naturally in the right environment."

Even if people want to keep their turf lawns, workshops can show them how to reduce their water consumption. "Just switching the sprinkler head makes a huge difference," she said.

Many people are hesitant to trade in their lush green because they associate "drought-tolerant" with succulents and cactus, but there are many types of ground cover, flowering plants and fragrant shrubs that make any landscape lively and interesting.

"Landscaping can be overwhelming. I try and make it easy to understand and clear," said Water Wise workshop instructor Juan Zamora. "I want to show how to use water wisely and have a lot of fun."

Zamora's teaching style includes lots of show-and-tell paired with hands-on learning. When the workshop's over, participants can go home and apply the methods.

"Our goal is to get the message out and have those people in the workshops tell other people," he said. "It's not hard to be water wise, it just takes a little bit of education."

It may not seem like much, but the water saved by turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth or by taking a slightly shorter shower can lead to hundreds of gallons and dollars saved in the long run.

The following tips will help identify leaks and changes to make in your home:

• Toilets can be a culprit for silent leaks because they usually go undetected. Carefully remove the toilet tank and put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and wait about 20 to 30 minutes. Make sure no one uses the toilet during this test. If the color seeps into the toilet bowl, there is a leak. Since there are multiple pieces inside the bowl that can be causing the leak you may want to replace all of the inner components of the toilet. Most local hardware stores sell the entire kit for less than $20.

• Grab a wrench and fix leaky faucets. Don’t forget to check outside faucets to ensure there are no leaks.

• Install a low-flow showerhead. There are some models that come with a temperature sensor. When the optimum temperature is reached, the water from the showerhead will slow to a trickle. When you are ready to get into the shower, you pull a cord and the showerhead resumes to normal flow. This will save water and electricity.