water conservation

Aug 26, 2013

Rain Barrel Workshop Provides Educational Fun

Green Infrastructure, rain barrels, Storm Water, water conservation 1 Comment

By Kevin Kubik

Painted Rain Barrel

My wife and I attended a rain barrel workshop in Eatontown, NJ. The workshop was on teaching people about water conservation and reducing storm water runoff in our communities and making rain barrels. The best part of the workshop was that they gave us everything we needed to make our own rain barrel including the barrel, a spigot and all the fittings.

It was a lot of fun hearing about the program and making the rain barrel. Special instructions were given on how to connect two or more rain barrels in a series to make greater use of big rain events, what to water with the collected water (lawn and garden watering) and what to avoid (consumption). Everyone was also shown a couple of ways to avoiding mosquito breeding in the rain barrel.

I was so impressed with the presentation that I asked the instructor, Sara Mellor, if she could come to our next divisional “All Hands” meeting to give us a short presentation. She even gave us our own rain barrel that we will use in our Edison rain garden.

Rain Barrel Class

The workshop was provided by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program, Water Conservation Program, which is a collaborative initiative between Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The link to the rain barrel program is http://water.rutgers.edu/Stormwater_Management/rainbarrels.html. Check it out.

Every year, as part of “Rutgers Day,” a contest is held for the best painted rain barrel. There’s even a video on how to paint a rain barrel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVtLTkGO3zs&feature=youtu.be.

About the Author: Kevin Kubik is the region’s Deputy Director for the Division of Environmental Science and Assessment out of EPA’s Edison Environmental Center. He has worked as a chemist for the region for more than 31 years in the laboratory and in the quality assurance program.

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Aug 1, 2013

Around the Water Cooler: Water Sustainability from Across the Globe

Around the Water Cooler, PUB, Singapore, Singapore Water Agency, sustainability, water conservation, WaterSense 2 Comments

By Sarah Blau

Something caught my eye in the ladies’ room of an out-of-the-way restaurant in a small North Carolina town where I spent my July 4^th weekend. Pictured in the upper right corner of the ceramic toilet tank was a little blue and green water droplet and the words WaterSense, which I recognized immediately.

WaterSense is EPA’s partnership program designed to protect the future of our nation’s water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products – products bearing the token blue and green label. Despite being familiar with the program, I was still surprised to discover that small symbol of water conservation in such a rural area. I realized that water conservation (as well as many other water resource sustainability issues) is not limited to one city, to one state, or even to one country. Water resource protection is a global issue, affecting everyone, everywhere.

In fact, I recently learned that Singapore’s National Water Agency, PUB, has a water conservation plan with goals very similar to EPA’s WaterSense. According to PUB’s website, their conservation plan “encourages customers to use water wisely,” and as a result, “Singapore’s per capita domestic water consumption has been brought down from 165 litres per day in 2003 to the current 152 litres.”

David Adelman, U.S. Ambassador to Singapore (left), and Chew Men Leong, Chief Executive, PUB (right). Choi Shing Kwok (center), Singapore’s Permanent Secretary for the Environment and Water Resources served as official witness.

In recognition of the global prevalence of water resource issues and the commonality in water resource goals between the U.S. and Singapore, last month EPA entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PUB. Signed by the Chief Executive of PUB, Chew Men Leong, and the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, David Adelman, the MOU paves the way for international collaboration to advance scientific and technical knowledge on pressing water issues.

EPA and PUB are both working toward similar goals for sustainable water management such as providing safe water for the population, promoting industry water clusters (similar to the EPA-supported Confluence), and providing innovative water solutions, jobs, and economic growth. “This partnership will promote safer drinking water and better water resource management,” said Ambassador Adelman. “We’re excited to be a part of it.”

Likewise, I’m excited to hear about this partnership. What better way to confront global water resource concerns than with international collaboration? From the smallest backwoods homestead to the busiest urban business, in this country and across the globe, we share similar water sustainability concerns. So, the wider-spread the research team addressing these issues, the better off we, and our waters, will be.

About the Author: Sarah Blau is a student services contractor working on the Science Communications Team in EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

Jul 11, 2013

Photo Essay: Old and New Environments Coming Together in Pittsburgh

Buildings, Cities, Green Infrastructure, Green Solutions, In Your Backyard, Local Community, Pittsburgh, rain garden, Stormwater, Urban Waters, water conservation, Water Efficiency, Watersheds 0 Comments

Blog and Photos by Christina Catanese

A few months ago, home in my native Pittsburgh, I paid a visit with my family to a place I went to many times growing up – Phipps Conservatory. My childhood recollections of the place mainly revolve around the stunning plant displays, and the plethora of colors and types of flowers that seemed to grow out of every possible surface. I was enchanted by the re-creation of various ecosystems, like the tropical plant room that thrived even in the bleak Pittsburgh winter. But during this visit, I encountered a new aspect of the Conservatory that changed how I saw the place, and indeed, my hometown itself.

The Center for Sustainable Landscapes was opened last year as Phipps’ hub for education, research, and administration. Striving to be “one of the greenest buildings on earth,” the Center utilizes innovative technologies to generate all its own energy, as well as treat and reuse all water captured on site.

Taking a stroll through the Center for Sustainable Landscapes’ grounds. The center building’s exterior incorporates repurposed wood salvaged from barns in Western Pennsylvania.

While a beautiful architectural construction, I was most impressed with the stormwater management measures the Center took, from the green roof, to rain gardens, to the pervious pavement used on the walkways.

Click “read more…” below to read the rest of this photo essay!

Jun 6, 2013

Drop It While It’s Hot!

gardening, Green Solutions, Home, In Your Backyard, Local Community, Outdoors, Pool, Rain Barrel, water conservation, Water Efficiency, WaterSense, What you can do 1 Comment

By Christina Catanese

We had to break out the little inflatable pool this weekend – the multiple days of temperatures over 90 degrees just demanded it. The cool water from the hose was refreshing, but when it came time to empty the pool, I couldn’t believe how much water it held and how long it took to drain it. I captured some of it to water my droopy plants, but there was still more water than I could use.

Filling up the pool on a hot summer day

During the summer, you might use four times as much water as you do during other months. Your water bill likely reflects the extra water you need for your lawn and garden, and to keep yourself cool! Your local waterways and systems are feeling the heat, too – the more water we use, the more has to be withdrawn and treated before it goes back to rivers and streams.

So what are some ways we can use less water in the summer? Part of it is using the water effectively.

While up to 90 percent of the water used outdoors is for irrigation, having a beautiful landscape doesn’t have to mean using a lot of water. Watering by hand is most efficient, but lots of us have automatically timed irrigation systems for convenience. It turns out that homes with automatically timed irrigation systems use about 50 percent more water outdoors than those without. Your system can waste even more if it’s programmed incorrectly, a sprinkler head is pointed in the wrong direction, or you have a leak. Lots of water can be lost through evaporation if you water at the wrong time of the day, and leaky hoses, dripping faucets, and improper landscaping can keep your garden from looking its best. Here are some tips from WaterSense for watering wisely this summer.

Another way to use less water outside is to capture it yourself. By using a rain barrel, you can capture free rainwater to use when you need it most to water your lawn and garden (but not for drinking or your kiddie pool). Rain barrels can be purchased at your local hardware or garden supply store. Better yet, many local government programs offer them at reduced prices. Check out our short video and this longer video from GreenTreks for more on installing your own rain barrel.

You can even design your landscape to be water efficient. Some plants are thirstier than others, so choose plants that are defined as low water use or drought tolerant for your area. These plant species will be able to survive in your climate with minimal, if any, need for supplemental watering. See these simple tips for water-efficient landscaping for more ideas on lowering water use in your yard. Visit this link to explore lists of native plants available for by state, and this one to see some Mid Atlantic resources.

So tell us: how are you dropping your water use this summer?

About the Author: Christina Catanese has worked at EPA since 2010, in the Water Protection Division’s Office of Program Support. Originally from Pittsburgh, Christina has lived in Philadelphia since attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied Environmental Studies, Political Science, and Hydrogeology. When not in the office, Christina enjoys performing, choreographing and teaching modern dance.

May 9, 2013

The Lowdown on Why Water Use is Down in DC

Education, Energy Production & Reduction, Green Solutions, Local Community, Operator, Partnership, Urban Waters, Washington DC, Wastewater, water conservation, Water Efficiency, Water Infrastructure, WaterSense, Watersheds, What you can do 1 Comment

By Ken Pantuck

It turns out that when it comes to water conservation, what goes up sometimes does come down. And what each of us does in our homes really does have an impact.

Water consumption in the District of Columbia is down from an average of 125 million gallons per day in 2004 to 100 million gallons today, according to recent reports from DC Water. Similarly, the amount of wastewater going to Washington’s Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant has declined over the past decade.

A shot of DC’s urban water resources. Photo courtesy of Flickr photographer ad454 from EPA’s State of the Environment Photo Project

How did this reduction occur? It seems to be a combination of factors. Homeowners have decided to use water-saving appliances in new homes and to replace water consumptive fixtures. DC Water has pushed an effective and ongoing program to repair and replace aging and deteriorated sewer segments. Proactive steps have been taken to eliminate other sources of water in the system, like tidal intrusions. And rainfall and ground water levels have been lower than normal.

Although earth is often referred to as the “water planet” with about 70% of its surface covered by water, less than 1% of the water is available for human use. Water supplies are finite, and the residents and wastewater utility in DC are helping to protect this critical and precious resource where they live. The story of water use in the district shows that the collective action of individuals can make a big difference to ensure there is enough clean water for generations to come.

The water conservation message is simple and something that any municipality, large or small, can easily promote. Encouraging residents to use less water is low cost and can produce significant savings. For example, the 25 million gallons of water savings in DC also results in a savings of $2,500 per day in processing costs at the Blue Plains Treatment Plant. Even more important, lower rates of water use means that less water is going through a wastewater system, which can relieve the pressure on treatment plants during large storm events. In a smaller plant, this could mean the difference between expanding the plant or not.

What can you do to help reduce water use where you live? One thing is to look for WaterSense-labeled water appliances for your home. WaterSense is an EPA partnership program that seeks to protect the future of our nation’s water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, homes, and services. Get lots of tips for how you can save water in your home here.

Mar 15, 2013

Fix a Leak Week

leaks, water, water conservation 2 Comments

By: Shelby Egan

The U.S. EPA’s WaterSense program is celebrating Fix a Leak Week from March 18-24, 2013. This week is dedicated to teaching people how to conserve water in their homes by checking pipes and irrigation systems for leaks. Leaks within our homes waste precious water and can even account for 1 trillion gallons of water wasted per year in the U.S.! Leaks include running toilets, dripping faucets, and other leaking pipes in your home that can easily be fixed. Although I live in a small apartment and don’t have an outdoor lawn to worry about, I still find ways to make sure I am saving water at home by only running the dishwasher when it’s full and when giving my cat fresh water, I use the old water to give my indoor plants a drink. It’s also easy for you to save water at home by turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth and when washing your hair. By visiting Fix a Leak Week’s homepage, you and a parent or guardian can learn how simple it is to help save water in your home by fixing leaks in running toilets, turning faucets all the way off, using a bucket of soapy water for dishes instead of a running faucet and many other cool ways. By making these everyday changes, you will help protect the Earth’s water and feel good about yourself in doing so.

Shelby Egan is a student volunteer in the EPA’s Air and Radiation Division in Region 5, and is currently obtaining her Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has a passion for protecting natural resources, cities she’s never been to and cooking any recipe by The Pioneer Woman.

Mar 14, 2013

Water Savings on Tap for Fix a Leak Week 2013

Buildings, Energy Production & Reduction, Green Solutions, Partnership, Technology, water conservation, Water Efficiency, WaterSense, What you can do 3 Comments

By Kimberly Scharl

March 18-24, 2013 is the EPA WaterSense program’s 5th annual Fix a Leak Week, a time when we remind you to check your household plumbing for leaks. American households waste more than 1 trillion gallons of clean drinking water each year due to leaky pipes, toilets, showerheads and other fixtures. But fixing leaks can be easy and inexpensive, and can save you nearly 10 percent on utility bills! Need some ideas to mark the occasion of Fix a Leak Week? We’ve got some for you…

Save water in your own home!

Being handy around the house doesn’t have to be difficult. Common types of leaks found in the home are worn toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. These types of leaks are often easy to fix. You might only need a few tools and hardware, and these fixes can pay for themselves in water savings. Check out this video by Spartanburg Water on detecting a leaky toilet.

Check it out!

There are tons of events happening all over the country to celebrate Fix a Leak Week! Here are two in the Mid-Atlantic Region:

Charlottesville, Virginia is hosting the “Fix a Leak Family 5k”, an event where runners and non-runners alike can learn about water conservation. Besides the trail run itself, the event will feature local vendors and non-profits sharing information on water and energy savings. This event is also featuring face painting, a DJ, and a nature trail making it fun for the whole family!

The West Virginia Public Service Commission in Charleston will be visiting local elementary schools to discuss the importance of water conservation with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Hands-on demonstrations will illustrate scarcity of potable water, areas of the country where shortages of water are a problem, and how those shortages affect individuals in other regions of the country.

Do you know of other events happening near you next week? Tell us about them in the comments!

Come Chat with Us!!!

To kick off Fix a Leak Week, WaterSense is holding its 2^nd Annual Fix a Leak Week Twitter chat on Monday March 18^th from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Log into your Twitter account during that time and use the hashtag #fixaleak to tweet messages about your plans to make a difference during Fix a Leak Week!

Flo, our spokesgallon, will be joining in too! Throughout the Twitter chat, we’ll be posting pictures of Flo as she travels around the Mid-Atlantic Region sharing water saving tips. Here’s a sneak peak of Flo, can you guess where she is?

So join in the conversation! Make sure to follow @EPARegion3 to catch all Flo’s journeys in our region, and follow @EPAwatersense and the #fixaleak hashtag to get more tips during the chat.

Take the Pledge!

Join us and thousands of your friends and neighbors in taking simple actions to save water. Take the “I’m for Water” pledge, and make a resolution this year to save this precious resource.

For more information on Fix a Leak Week and the WaterSense program, go to www.epa.gov/watersense. You can also follow WaterSense on Facebook and Twitter! Make 2013 about water and take the pledge today!

Tell us how you are saving water this Fix a Leak Week in the comments!

About the Author: Kimberly Scharl has worked at the Environmental Protection Agency since 2010, after moving to Pennsylvania from Mississippi. She is a financial analyst and project officer for the Water Protection Division, Office of Infrastructure and Assistance. She is also the Regional Liason for the WaterSense Program. Kim enjoys bowling and spending time with her family.

Feb 7, 2013

Good Beer? It’s in the Water

Beer, Business, chemistry, Economy, Green Solutions, In Your Backyard, Local Community, Partnership, Saucony Creek, Schuylkill, sustainability, water conservation, Water Quality, Watersheds 2 Comments

By Christina Catanese

If you’re a beer drinker, when you crack open a cold bottle or sip a freshly poured draft beer, the first thing you think about probably isn’t the quality of the water that was used to create your brew. You probably notice the color, the aroma, the head, the flavor, the hops, the malt…but what of the water?

Photo Courtesy of the CDC

When I was in grad school, I worked at a microbrewery for some extra cash, and it changed what I thought I knew about beer. I became familiar with the process of making beer: from malting, to mashing, to lautering, to boiling, to fermenting, to conditioning, and to filtering. At each point in the process, water plays a key role, and it can make up over 95% of the finished product poured into your pint.

I had a lot of discussions with our brewer about how much the source water quality affects the brewing process and product. There’s the obvious impact of the flavor of the water used in the brewing process, but the chemistry of the water can alter the process itself.

He described how yeast convert sugars into alcohol to ferment the beer, and how changes in water chemistry impact the activity of the yeast. The chlorine that is added to most municipal drinking water to eliminate harmful bacteria can impact the flavor and aroma of beer, but the presence of bacteria can spoil a batch of beer.

I learned that the pH of the water also affects the sugar composition, which in turn affects how strong the beer will be. Like hoppy beers? Harder water brings out the hops’ flavor. Softer water can result in milder flavored beers, so some brewers add water hardeners during the brewing process to amp up the hops and flavor.

Something as simple as a change in the treatment process at the local drinking water plant can have an impact. So, too, can a new upstream pollution source or change in the health of the source water body.

You might wonder why breweries don’t just purify their water to start with some H2O that is as neutral as possible to start with. But the thing is, what’s in the water is what makes the process work, and what makes gives each beer a unique regional character. Overly purifying water through filtering or other methods takes everything out of the water, even the things a brewer wants to be there.

The brewery I worked at also strived to be a sustainable operation – the spent grains from the brewing process were picked up by a farmer to be used for livestock feed. A few times, our brewer even asked me if he could borrow my hydrology and soils text books so he could have a better knowledge of how the health of the environment would affect the beer he made.

Throughout the history of beer making, brewers have been careful to site their breweries in the places with the highest quality water, and the health of a brewery’s home watershed is of prime importance to their brewers.

To recognize the connection of good beer with good water, the Schuylkill Action Network has partnered with brewers in the watershed to develop a special brew that pays tribute to its source water.

Have you ever thought about how water quality affects your happy hour? What other unexpected ways does water impact our lives?

Dec 20, 2012

All I Want for Christmas is…Some Water Saving Tips

Chores, Food, Green Solutions, holiday, In Your Backyard, Rain Barrel, water conservation, WaterSense 5 Comments

By Christina Catanese

This weekend was one of major holiday prep for me. I did laundry. I cleaned the house. I baked. I washed dishes. I cooked. I washed more dishes. I did some holiday arts and crafts. I had some friends over for dinner. I washed even more dishes. I did even more laundry washing the towels and sheets used by early holiday guests that had come and gone. Around the third round of washing dishes (incidentally, my least favorite household task), I realized that most of the things I was doing involved using a whole lot of water.

‘Tis the season to be doing a lot of entertaining, and that can involve more water use than usual. Here are some tips for conserving water and energy this holiday season:

While you’re eating: The dishes never end!

Don’t run the tap when washing dishes. Plugging the drain, filling the sink with soapy water, and scrubbing and rinsing from there can reduce how much water you use cleaning all those holiday pots, pans, and dishes.
Most dishwashers will clean your plates just fine if you just scrape off food scraps and put them right in the dishwasher. So you don’t need to double down on your water use by rinsing dishes in the sink before putting them in the dishwasher.
Speaking of food scraps, food waste tends to spike in the holiday season. This impacts our water resources indirectly – all the water and resources put into the growing, manufacturing, and selling of our food goes to waste if the food ends up in a landfill. Learn more about how you can reduce food waste. You can also add certain food scraps to a compost pile if you have one instead of using a garbage disposal, which uses water and adds the mashed up food to the wastewater stream to be treated.
To reduce the number of loads of dishes you have to do, make sure that your dishwasher is fully loaded every time you run it. Use the water saving settings if your appliance has them.
Save water and the energy used by your hot water heater by thawing foods in the microwave or overnight in the fridge, instead of running hot water over them.
The amount of water wasted while you let it run until it’s cool can really add up. To have nice cool water for your holiday meals, fill a pitcher with water a few hours before and store it in the fridge until dinner time.

While you’re cleaning:

Save water (and make that pile of laundry disappear a little faster) by only washing and drying full loads every time, and using the appropriate setting on your machine to the size of the load you’re washing.
Using cold water whenever possible can reduce the energy needed to wash your clothes, as well as your energy bills.

Happy Holidays! While you’re shopping:

If you’re anything like me, you’re doing some last-minute, crazed holiday shopping and could use some inspiration for gift ideas. Water-efficient appliances can make great gifts! Faucet aerators are small and reasonably priced – perfect for a stocking stuffer! Water-efficient showerheads, too.
A rain barrel could also be a great gift to help your loved ones conserve water during the summer months, although you’ll need a pretty big stocking for that one, and it might not fit down the chimney.
Looking for a bigger ticket item and long-term investment? Check out Water Sense for efficient toilets and other appliances, and Energy Star for efficient washing machines and dishwashers.

How are you saving water this holiday season? Tell us in the comments section.

Oct 4, 2012

Baths and the Environment

bath tub, math, water conservation 0 Comments

tub Did you know that you could help sustain underground aquifers with your choice of how you get clean? I live in Kansas, and we, like other Midwest states, are in extreme drought conditions with no rain replenishing our aquifers. Taking long showers or full tub baths impacts the hydrologic cycle, taking out more water than can be quickly returned.

How many gallons of water do you use? Don’t know? Measure the tub’s length times width times depth of the water and multiply by 7.5 to get the gallon amount. Why 7.5? That is the number of gallons in a cubic foot. Yep, the math you learned does come in handy.

Use a piece of tape or water based marker to mark the height of the water BEFORE YOU JUMP IN the tub! . Then do the math. Archimedes discovered that when you get into the tub, the level of water will rise equal to the amount your body mass, which displaces the water in the tub. The amount can be 42 to 200 gallons depending on how much you fill the tub!

Do showers use less water? Mostly yes, but sometimes no. It all depends on the amount of time spent in the shower (no more than 8-10 minutes) and the type of showerhead used–low flow showerheads are best. If you take very long showers and use an inefficient showerhead, you may use more water than in a bath. Plug the tub, and when you finish your shower , mark the height of the water in the tub. Then do the math. But beware, those of you who take over 15 minute showers may overflow your bathtub–a real visual reminder to use less water!

Set a goal to reduce your water consumption. One way is shower singing. It not only makes you sound like a rock star but it can help you turn off the faucet sooner. Singing is also great for your health–studies have shown that it gives your brain a euphoric jolt that calms your nerves, gives you energy, and puts you in a good mood. Stay in the shower for only one or two songs to take shorter showers and save water!

Denise Scribner has been teaching about environmental issues for over 35 years. For her innovative approaches to teaching to help her students become environmentally aware citizens, she won the 2012 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. Her high school was also one of the first 78 schools across the USA to be named a Green Ribbon School in 2012.

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