Discussing Drought in a time of Rain

Maybe it is counter-intuitive to talk about drought when it is raining, but it shouldn’t be.  It can rain all day, all week, all month, so what?  We use too much water.  Period.  Increasing supply is not going to get people to use water sustainably.  If anything, more rain is going to let us be lazy when it comes to water use.  Honestly, if it’s not on the front page most folks won’t give water a second thought.  They probably won’t give it a second thought if it is on the front page anyways, given the declining readership numbers of daily newspapers, but I digress

Nothing promotes waste more than abundance.  Let’s say enough rain falls to get our regional totals up to “average”.  A family of 4 uses more than 150% more water than they did 50 years ago!  “Average” yearly rainfall doesn’t cut it anymore.  Agriculture and commercial users have to step up to the plate, sort of – but that does not absolve myself or you, the residential user, from our responsibility to sustainable water practices.

When you remodel your bathroom, think about a dual flush toilet.  At the absolute minimum, make sure your unit uses only 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf).  When your washing machine breaks, buy a front loading model.  You might pay more coin on the front end, but you will lose money over time in your water bills.  Do you have to have grass?  Maybe you can plant a front landscape of beautiful natives instead.  I even stopped showering, and my wife does not seem to mind, though she has taken to sleeping in the next room for some reason.