water conservation

Nov 3, 2016

Avoiding Holiday ‘Commode’tion

Septic Smart Week, Septic Systems, water conservation 1 Comment

by Tom Damm

The Halloween costumes weren’t that frightening in our neighborhood this week. An astronaut, a soccer player, even a happy jack-o-lantern. Nothing to give me pause in opening the door.

But here’s a truly scary vision as we shift into the main holiday season – a houseful of guests and a malfunctioning septic system. That’ll generate a scream or two.

One of every five households in the U.S. depends on septic systems to treat wastewater. If not properly maintained, the systems can overflow or backup, creating far worse problems for you and your guests than spoiling the aroma of the roasted turkey.

Not to worry, though. EPA has some SepticSmart tips to ensure that your system can handle the everyday and extra loads.

Run the dishwasher and washing machine only when full. Fix plumbing leaks and install faucet aerators and water efficient products. Too much water use at once can overload your system, particularly if it hasn’t been pumped in the last couple of years.
Avoid pouring fats, grease and solids down the drain, which can clog your system, or toxic material, which can kill the organisms that digest and treat waste.
Have your septic system inspected every three years by a licensed contractor and have the tank pumped when necessary, generally every three to five years.
Only put items in the drain or toilet that belong there to avoid clogging or damaging your system.
Remind guests not to park or drive on your system’s drainfield because the vehicle weight could damage buried pipes or disrupt underground flow causing system backups and floods.

A malfunctioning system can kill native plants and fish and shellfish, as well as reduce property values and potentially pose a legal liability. A system that’s properly maintained helps keep your family’s drinking water clean and reduces the risk of contaminating local waters.

So, as you’re preparing for company by cleaning those areas that don’t get regular attention, be sure to keep your septic system in mind. It’ll help keep your holiday conversation focused on more pleasant subjects.

About the Author: Tom Damm has been with EPA since 2002 and now serves as communications coordinator for the region’s Water Protection Division.

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Oct 27, 2016

Shower Yourself with Savings

showerheads, water conservation, WaterSense, WaterSense Products 1 Comment

by Tom Damm

A “Navy shower” is quite efficient. Get wet, turn off the water, lather up, rinse off and get out. All done in a few minutes.

My first experience with such a shower was in a trailer near New Orleans during EPA’s response to Hurricane Katrina. I learned how to get clean in a hurry when the scarce hot water available in our compound ran out by the time I showered each morning.

I’ve since taken more comfortable, but similarly speedy showers at home. It makes sense since EPA estimates that shortening your shower by even one minute can save 550 gallons of water per year.

Showering is one of the leading ways we use water in the home, accounting for nearly 17 percent of residential indoor water use.

The City of Charlottesville, Virginia – a two-time EPA WaterSense national award winner for its water saving promotions – challenges its residents to take a five-minute shower, offering a free timer and suggesting they create a five-minute playlist and use a 2-in-1 shampoo-conditioner combination.

But one of the main suggestions from EPA and Charlottesville to save water, energy and money is to replace your old showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model. Charlottesville offers them at no cost to its residents.

In just one year, a WaterSense showerhead can save the average family nearly 3,000 gallons of water and save enough electricity to power their home for 13 days. That’s a savings of more than $70 in energy and water costs.

October has been designated Shower Better Month by EPA’s WaterSense program. Here’s a link for more ways to save water throughout your home – and to avoid that knock on the door to speed it up in the shower.

About the Author: Tom Damm has been with EPA since 2002 and now serves as communications coordinator for the region’s Water Protection Division.

Oct 18, 2016

Reading sees success of saving water during drought

Clean Water, drought, drought management, Household water consumption, water conservation, water consumption 2 Comments

By Gina Snyder

Ten years after my hometown of Reading, Mass., joined the regional water supply system and stopped pumping the groundwater wells that supplied our drinking water, northeast Massachusetts and much of New England is in the worst drought in decades. Before we stopped pumping in 2006, droughts like we’ve had this summer would have turned the Ipswich River into a dry riverbed littered with dead fish. This summer it did not.

Before Reading bought into the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority drinking water system, every second or third year the Ipswich River would go dry. The drought of 2016 has given us reason to celebrate the Town Meeting vote of 2006.

In September, I got together with some of my fellow Reading Stream Team members to re-enact a locally famous kayak-without-any-water (“Got Water?”) picture taken in 2002, the year of a severe drought but not as severe as this year. At the time the Ipswich River Watershed Association brought together Stream Teamers and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs at the river to show the conditions. We could not quite reproduce the photo we took then this year since there’s water in the river!

A Stream Team member positioned her kayak while two other members held the famous poster “Got Water?” and I took the picture.

Even before the vote of a decade ago, Reading had a strong water conservation program, distributing on average no more than 55 gallons of water per person per day (below the state Department of Environmental Protection Water Conservation Standard of 65 gallons per capita per day). But conditions were dire nonetheless, with groundwater withdrawals exceeding 2.5 million gallons a day on some of the hottest summer days.

Reading’s water conservation program has continued to show the success it had before switching to the MWRA. Lawn watering is restricted throughout the year, and the Town provides free rain gauges and irrigation timers. A rain gauge helps homeowners determine when the garden, flowers or lawn need watering. The irrigation timer attaches to a garden hose to control how long the sprinkler stays on.

The conservation program will replace homeowners’ garden hose nozzles to help save water when watering outside. The nozzle has an adjustable setting to help water properly. The town also provides faucet aerators to reduce water flow, low-flow showerheads, and leak detection tablets. And, if a homeowner has to replace that leaky toilet, Reading will provide a rebate on a low-flow toilet.

I’ve been so excited as the summer drew to a close and that river segment continued to have water. It’s the most amazing success story I’ve been involved in. I have year after year of dead fish pictures, so to be able to take pictures of water in this year of serious drought has been remarkable.

Reading learned about water conservation while pumping the Ipswich dry. In that case however, conservation wasn’t enough to save the river. The collage below shows a graph of rainfall amounts (from Boston) over the summer drought of 2002 (in photo on left) compared to this year (photo on right). We can see that rainfall monthly totals during this summer have been much lower than they were in 2002, but the river continues to have water quite a ways downstream.

While conditions are severe elsewhere in the Ipswich River and some of its tributaries, with dry riverbed conditions downstream of the Reading Town Forest, Reading has reason to celebrate – its section of the Ipswich River has “Got Water!” And while water conservation continues in this year of severe drought, here’s one success story we can celebrate.

About the author: Gina Snyder works in the Office of Environmental Stewardship, Compliance Assistance at EPA New England and serves on her town’s climate committee. She lives in Reading, Mass

https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/drinkwater/water_conservation.html.

http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/eea/wrc/water-conservation-standards-rev-june-2012.pdf

http://www.ipswichriver.org/the-ipswich-river-in-the-news/

Oct 29, 2015

Don’t be SCARED to save water and energy with WaterSense!

Children's Health Month, national energy action month, water conservation, WaterSense 1 Comment

by Kimberly Scharl

Is Halloween on your mind this week? It’s okay to be scared at the thought of ghosts and goblins running around, but a truly frightful sight is your electric bill driven higher by wasteful water use.

October is National Energy Action Month, and even though you may not realize it, it takes a lot of energy to provide clean water. Energy is needed to move every gallon of water you use in your home, office, or school from its source to a treatment plant, and through water pipes to your house. The work doesn’t stop there! If you need hot water, it takes energy to warm it up before it hits the tap.

Water may seem like an inexpensive resource, but the more water you use, the more energy you use, too. That’s why it’s so important to conserve water and why we encourage you to “shower better” during the month of October and all-year-round!

Showering is one of the leading ways Americans use water in the home, accounting for nearly 17% of indoor water use. You can shower better by replacing your old showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model that saves water, energy and money while performing as well as a standard model. By replacing just one showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model, EPA estimates the average family can save 2,900 gallons of water, enough electricity to power a home for 13 days, and more than $70 in energy and water costs every year.

October is also Children’s Health Month and a great time to talk to your kids about becoming “green goblins” by conserving water. Check out WaterSense for kids for games and activities to get them in on the water-saving action. You can search for WaterSense-labeled products – including showerheads – and more on EPA’s WaterSense website. Shower better with WaterSense and your water use can be one less thing to be scared of this Halloween!

About the Author: Kimberly Scharl joined EPA in 2010, after moving to the mid-Atlantic region from Mississippi. She is a financial analyst and project officer in the Office of Infrastructure and Assistance, and is the regional liaison for the WaterSense Program. Kim enjoys bowling and spending time with her family.

Sep 23, 2015

EPA WaterSense: Helping New York City Save Water

brooklyn, DEP, Fort Greene, Green Code Task Force, nyc, public parks, water conservation, water fountain, WaterSense 0 Comments

By Alex Peck

Water fountains at Fort Green Park in Brooklyn, NY.

Last summer, while walking through Fort Greene Park on a beautiful day, I noticed a sign posted next to an outdoor fountain describing how New York City had made it more water efficient. The fountain used to run continuously 24 hours a day. Now, thanks in part to the EPA’s recommendations, New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has retrofitted the sprinklers with timer buttons, which, when pressed, allow the sprinkler to operate for two minute intervals. This small effort helps New York City save about 10,000 gallons of water per day!

EPA is helping NYC become more efficient.

This water conservation measure, along with others that the DEP has made over the last four years, came about through the help of Mr. Lorne LaMonica, a Senior Scientist with EPA in the Pollution Prevention and Climate Change Section. For two years, Mr. LaMonica participated in New York City’s Green Code Task Force and was instrumental in incorporating the EPA WaterSense Program specifications into the NYC Code. The retrofitting of the fountain in Fort Greene Park is just one of the many water conservation measures implemented.

This photo shows the on/off button for the sprinkler in Fort Greene Park. This one button helps NYC save 10,000 gallons of water a day.

As a result of Lorne’s efforts, New York City has become a strong proponent of using EPA WaterSense specifications in new construction and retrofits. The city reported to EPA that in 2013, with the assistance of our WaterSense recommendations, it retrofitted 13 schools with water-efficient urinals, toilets, and faucets. As a result of installing these water-saving fixtures, these schools conserved 49,000,000 gallons of water, reduced 114 metric tons of carbon equivalent (greenhouse gases) and saved $143,000 in water utility costs! In 2014, DEP retrofitted an additional 10 schools and the water saving numbers were tremendous: 92,000,000 gallons of water saved, 211 metric tons of carbon equivalent saved, and a savings of $266,800 in water utility costs. These retrofit projects are expected to continue for years through hundreds of schools throughout the city.

To find out more about the EPA’s WaterSense program and how it’s helping communities throughout the United States to save water, visit: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/.

About the Author: Alex Peck is an Environmental Protection Specialist in EPA Region 2’s Pollution Prevention and Climate Change Section.

Aug 27, 2015

The Proof is in the Peppers

In Your Backyard, rain barrels, sustainable living, water conservation 1 Comment

by Jennie Saxe

Rain barrel water is great for backyard gardens and saves money, too!

A few months back, I blogged about installing my first rain barrels. With the hot summer nearly in the rear-view mirror, I can report that rain barrels work…and they save money, too!

How do I know that the rain barrels work? Well, the proof is in the peppers. And pansies. And all of the other plants that not just survived, but thrived, on the rain water collected in the barrels. By this point of the summer, I usually have garden beds full of crunchy, brown plants. The rain water has kept my flowers blooming and vegetables growing happily for over 3 months.

I saved some money, too! I water my vegetable garden and flowers about 4 times a week, using about 4 watering cans of rain water each time. At 2 gallons per can, I avoided using nearly 450 gallons of tap water for my watering needs – enough to fill almost 10 bathtubs. And at about 9 cents per gallon for tap water, that’s a savings of around $40!

I’ll keep using my rain barrels throughout the fall, to water fall plantings. In the winter, I’ll drain the barrels to avoid any damage. Then next spring, I’ll grab some compost, hook up my rain barrels, and get my garden growing!

For more on sustainable lawn and garden care year-round, check out these tips.

About the author: Dr. Jennie Saxe joined EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region in 2003 and works in the Water Protection Division on sustainability programs.

Jun 19, 2015

Celebrating National Pollinator Week: Choose Native Plants

Green Solutions, Native Plants, pesticides, pollinators, sustainability, water conservation, What you can do 0 Comments

By Gayle Hubert

I discovered a few years ago that I’m a sixth generation resident of Platte County, Mo. I was living in a house unknowingly within five miles of where my third and second great-grandfathers are buried. It’s funny how we end up going back to our roots. My family’s roots grow best on our native land. So it is with my native plants.

As I was digging one day in my yard in Parkville, I marveled at the plant I was putting into the ground, back into the native Missouri soil it loves so well. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than putting these plants back home where they belong. My plants get their strength from the tan clays of the Midwest.

National Pollinator Week is June 15-21, and I felt compelled to write about one of my greatest passions: native plants. This week was designated to build awareness of the declining pollinator populations in the hope that we’ll begin to choose native plants for our landscapes, as one of many things we can do to help pollinators.

Why pollinators are important

Clockwise from lower right: Indian Pink, Wild Hairy Petunia, Caterpillar, American Beautyberry, Tiger Swallowtail on Purple Coneflower (center)

Our choice of plants is even more important considering the connection they have to pollinators and to our food supply. Pollinators are responsible for one third of the food we eat, and for pollinating the plants that supply us with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients like antioxidants found in tea, fruit, and vegetables. Pollinators are also responsible for the meat and dairy we eat, because those animals eat the alfalfa, clover, and other plants pollinated by bees and other pollinators.

Many pollinator populations are declining, and one reason is that the number and variety of native plants they evolved with are declining too. Pollinators grow up with native plants, use them for food and shelter, and they often prefer only natives. Some non-native varieties are less hardy and have been genetically altered so much that bees and other pollinators can’t find the pollen because they no longer recognize the structure.

Not only do native plants provide nutrients and homes to pollinators, they also help the environment by thriving without adding expensive fertilizers, chemicals, or sprinkler systems. I believe they are some of the hardiest living things on earth.

The advantages of going native

Gayle’s first native garden in its third year, with her son Nate

I’ve witnessed their amazing powers to return to full bloom after being mowed down by mistake, eaten by deer and rabbits, and dug up by dogs. They’ve withstood drought, killing frosts, subzero cold, and scorching heat. They wait patiently until floodwaters disappear and stand tall downstream of a raging current. They can be trampled, transplanted, pummeled by hail and still thrive in some of the driest, hardest, and most compact soils on this planet – the clay soil of the Heartland. Their strength is in their roots.

I started gardening with natives at our first home in a corner of the backyard that I had no idea what to do with. The plot sat for a couple of years until I attended an event at a local nursery, where I bought my first native flower seed that began my garden. I was hooked on natives from that day on.

Gayle’s current native garden

I was in awe of every bloom because I’d never seen these plants before. Each one had its own unique character and beauty. And then, to my astonishment, came dozens of butterflies, along with hummingbirds, Goldfinches, Cedar Waxwings, Indigo Buntings, and many more winged visitors. Native plants will lure critters you never knew existed.

Ten years later, we moved to a new home that was a challenge because of the strict covenants and neighbors’ preferences to manicured green lawns. However, I wanted to share my knowledge and designed my native flower beds in areas where the grass doesn’t grow. I even incorporated non-natives into the scheme.

It’s been 12 years since I installed that garden. To my amazement, I still get plenty of compliments about my native garden from passers-by. I‘m constantly adding and moving things around, but isn’t that what gardening is all about?

Create your own natural, native garden

I encourage you to incorporate a few native plant species into your own landscape. You can delight in the same wonderful blooms, joy, and diversity these plants have given me, and at the same time, give the pollinators the plants they grew up with. And if you don’t own land, you can still grow them in pots and give them to friends and family to place in their landscapes.

There are many native plant varieties that substitute nicely for the familiar non-natives we see every day, and will offer more value to you and the ecosystem. For example, Serviceberry or Dogwoods will swap for the Bradford Pears, and besides spring blooms, they display additional fall color and are less susceptible to ice damage. Golden Currant can replace your Forsythia, with thousands of yellow blooms and a wonderful clove fragrance! Not only that, it blooms in March when little else does.

Tuck a few new native plants here and there among existing non-natives, like I’ve done. You can use prepared garden designs or design your own hummingbird garden, Monarch waystation, or pollinator garden. Have fun with it!

Choose a native plant as a substitute for a non-native. They’re good for pollinators, the environment, and your wallet!

Helpful links:

Learn more about pollinators
Free pollinator friendly planting guides
Get the BeeSmart Pollinator Gardener app
Grow Native – includes native plant information, alternative species list, and resource guide (look for Grow Native tags at local nurseries)
Seek advice from Master Gardeners with the University of Missouri Extension and Kansas State University Extension
Learn about Haven, a nationwide network of 1,000 specially designed beehives intended to help reverse declining bee populations

About the Author: Gayle Hubert serves as an Environmental Scientist with EPA Region 7’s Air and Waste Management Division. She is currently assigned to the Waste Enforcement and Materials Management Program. Gayle received her bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Missouri.

Apr 16, 2015

Save the shellfish

Aquatic Health/Habitat Use, climate change, water conservation, water quality, what can you do 0 Comments

by Jennie Saxe

Oysters and other shellfish are at risk due to ocean acidification

On a recent visit to Washington D.C., I had the opportunity to try eating raw oysters for the first time. Though I found the first slurp slimy, the texture quickly gave way to amazing taste: some were briny, some were almost sweet. Needless to say, the oysters disappeared quickly. But my beloved shellfish are in peril, according to this recent study. The culprit? Ocean acidification.

What is ocean acidification? Here’s a quick science lesson: gases have the tendency to “dissolve” into liquids until they reach a stable state between the liquid and the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, or CO2, released from power generation, transportation, industry, and other sources, behaves in just this way.

As CO2 levels in the atmosphere increase, a portion of the CO2 enters the oceans, where it creates carbonic acid, increasing acidity. Increased acidity (or, a drop in pH) makes it harder for shellfish to make their shells out of calcium carbonate. If the shellfish can’t thrive, that negatively affects the marine organisms and processes that depend on them, as well as an economy and a way of life that we recently featured in this blog.

We recently described how cleaner air can mean cleaner water. Ocean acidification is another example of how air quality and water quality are closely linked. By reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere, we can reduce the impact of ocean acidification on oysters and other aquatic resources.

So take a look at what you can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – you’ll also help ensure a healthy marine ecosystem, a strong fishing economy, and delicious seafood dinners for generations to come.

About the author: Dr. Jennie Saxe joined EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region in 2003 and works in the Water Protection Division on sustainability programs. She encourages everyone interested in seafood safety to check out the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fact sheet on selecting and serving seafood, as well as this advice from EPA and FDA on fish consumption and mercury.

Mar 31, 2015

Terps Leave Tinier Water Footprints

water, water conservation, water consumption, water efficient, WaterSense 1 Comment

By Madeleine Raley

The University of Maryland (UMD) is one of the largest consumers of freshwater in the state of Maryland, but it’s making big steps in water conservation across campus. Despite the addition of a new dorm in 2011, which added 640 beds and over 180 bathrooms to campus, water consumption levels have remained relatively steady at about a half a billion gallons annually since 2009. This is thanks to mass implementation of new water saving devices such as low-flow toilets, showers, faucets and moisture sensors on irrigation fields.

Although I’ve been a student at UMD for the past three years, it wasn’t until I came to intern for EPA’s Office of Water this semester that I truly began to appreciate the innovative ways UMD conserves water. During my internship, I learned about WaterSense, a partnership program started by EPA’s Office of Water, which offers people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services. Three water efficient products in the program are low-flow toilets, faucets and showerheads. According to EPA, one WaterSense low flow showerhead will save 2,900 gallons of water and $70 a year. To earn the WaterSense label, a showerhead needs to be under a 2.00/gallon per minute flow.

Residential facilities at UMD says that every single shower on campus (1,236 to be exact) has a 1.5/gallon per minute flow. They even have an entire residence hall that utilizes showers with 1.25/gallon per minute flow. The campus also boasts 1,370 toilets equipped with low-flow flush valves, and 1,370 sinks equipped with low flow aerators. To illustrate how effective this is, let’s consider the case of Washington Hall. In 2011-2012 Washington Hall used an average of 65,750 gallons of water annually. However, after the installation of low-flow products, the building used an average of 34,250 gallons of water annually in 2013-2014, saving over 30,000 gallons a year.

When organizations buy WaterSense products, they empower the individual to make a difference without even realizing it, simply by using the WaterSense products offered. Recruiting larger organizations and companies – or even universities — could be an effective solution to curb the immense amount of water wasted by toilets, faucets and showerheads, like at the University of Maryland.

About the author: Madeleine Raley is a Spring Intern for the Office of Water Communications Team. She is a senior Government and Politics Major and Sustainability Minor at the University of Maryland and is expecting to graduate in May.

Mar 12, 2015

Take a Second to Fix a Leak

Green Solutions, water conservation, Water Efficiency, WaterSense, What you can do 1 Comment

by Kimberly Scharl

One trillion gallons.

That’s how much clean drinking water American households waste each year due to leaky pipes, toilets, showerheads and other fixtures. That’s enough water to fill 1,515 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

The good news: fixing these leaks can be easy, inexpensive, and can save you nearly 10 percent on your water bills. EPA’s WaterSense program encourages everyone to “chase down” plumbing leaks during next week’s 7^th annual Fix a Leak Week, because leaks can run, but they can’t hide!

Fix a Leak Week is the perfect time to find and stop water leaks in your home. When it comes to repairing leaky fixtures, and you don’t need to be a home repair expert. Some common types of leaks found in the home, like worn toilet flappers and dripping faucets, are often easy to fix. You might only need a few tools and hardware, and these fixes can pay for themselves in water savings.

To kick off the week, EPA is hosting a Twitter Chat on Monday March 16^th from 2-3 pm (eastern). Join the conversation by using the hashtag #FixALeak.

The celebration of savings lasts all week: the WaterSense Facebook page has a map of events happening all over the country to celebrate Fix a Leak Week. Here are two in the Mid-Atlantic Region:

On March 16, EPA will be on hand at the South Philadelphia store of The Home Depot – a WaterSense partner – to demonstrate water-saving improvement projects. Stop by to find out about water-saving projects and products.

On March 22, the City of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia, and the Albemarle County Service Authority will host a Fix a Leak 5K, an event where runners will chase a “running” toilet along the city’s main rivers and natural areas. The family-friendly event will also feature local vendors and non-profits sharing information on water and energy savings.

Share the savings

When you take the plunge to find and fix a leak in your home, share the news!

Take the I’m for Water pledge, and
Follow WaterSense on Facebook and Twitter!

How do you save water during Fix a Leak Week and every day? Let us know in the comments!

About the Author: Kimberly Scharl joined EPA in 2010, after moving to the mid-Atlantic region from Mississippi. She is a financial analyst and project officer in the Office of Infrastructure and Assistance, and is the Regional Liaison for the WaterSense Program. Kim enjoys bowling and spending time with her family.

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