When the Water’s Gone
Conservation, Consumerism, Potable Water, Waste Systems & Recycling, Waste Water — by Nichole Ross February 3, 2010
As I lay here writing this, the last inch of water is being intentionally drained from our 5000-gallon rainwater catchment tank. Although we live in the rainforest on the southeast side of the Big Island of Hawaii, we haven’t had any significant rain for almost 2 months. According to our neighbor, this kind of drought happens every couple of years. I can’t believe that the once abundant supply of water we took for granted only a few months ago is almost gone. Now the only thing coming out of the tap is a red-colored silt-laden bottom-of-the-tank soup. Even though we probably would have had a couple days supply left, we ultimately decided it was time to clean out that dirty tank.
We chose to gamble. The forecast predicts rain for Kapoho ever day this week, but only a 20% chance. In the meantime, we’ll make sure to keep the containers we generally use only for drinking water filled up to the top with water from the Pahoa water station. If we don’t get significant rain over the next few days, we may have to pay a water truck to come fill our tank. $180. Otherwise, no showers, no toilet flushing, no water for dishes or laundry.
Living off-grid at the mercy of Mother Nature is a continuous learning experience. When you live in the City where all your needs are provided by public utilities, you just don’t understand smart use. Sure, many people tend to become conservation-minded when the bills get too high. But, how many city-dwellers can relate to getting down to that last drop of red water, knowing you will soon need to think about waterless composting toilets and showering at the beach?
The real question I have to ask myself is, “how did we get here when we had so much rain this past fall and a completely full water tank?” The answer, “we took it for granted that the rain would keep coming”. We washed our dishes under running water, we flushed our toilet after single uses, we washed all our laundry here and we took showers that were as long as the solar-heated water would allow. To our credit, we do have eight people living on this system. But, we were wasteful. Now we are paying the price. Yet, we have learned very important lessons about conservation.
First, we could use a much larger catchment tank. With the 103 inches of annual rainfall we normally get here in Kapaho, we could easily fill five water tanks. However, I think setting up at least one more might be able to store enough water to get us through occasional droughts like this.
Second, we need to start valuing our water and put conservation practices in place. We have recently resorted to peeing in a bucket. The urine collected not only cuts down on water needed to flush the toilet, but also acts as a valuable nitrogen source when poured over a compost pile or around trees. We will also be setting up a dry-composting toilet, akin to a Humanure model, as an alternate to our traditional loo. This system uses no water. Instead, after use, some type of dry carbon such as sawdust is poured over the deposit to cut down on odor and activate decomposition. Eventually, the contents will completely decompose and can be used as compost around trees. We’re also using Germ-X as an alternative to hand washing.
Third, we will encourage shorter showers. Turn off the water when soaping up. Sounds simple. Same with dishes. Fill up the sink, rather than washing them under running water. Paper plates are handy too.
Finally, laundry. I just spent $20 washing clothes at the laundromat yesterday. While this conserves our catchment water, it’s not only a waste of money, but also of energy. Finding an efficient method that uses renewable energy while at the same time reduces home water use is the goal. Perhaps a bicycle-powered washing machine may be the answer. More to come on that one.
Overall, the lesson learned here is to not take resources for granted just because they seem abundant at the time. It doesn’t matter whether you live off-grid or on city-utilities. What’s here today may be gone tomorrow. Just the very act of thinking about what you use and considering creative ways to reduce that usage now, may prevent a loss of luxury in the near future.
Comments (1)
What an awesome article on a great subject, Nicole!
Comment by Leara Stanley — February 3, 2010 @ 11:44 pm
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