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Did you know that unsalted water represents only 2.5 % of the earth’s water? Did you also know that two-thirds of that water is composed of glaciers and eternal snow? Lakes and rivers represent only 0.3% of all the unsalted water present on the planet. So, if someone you know is not yet convinced that we need to put effort into preserving our water you can use these arguments. You can close your discussion by explaining that we can go several weeks without eating, but will die after a few days if we don’t drink.
Water Conserving Toilets
About one-fourth of the average home’s water consumption goes out the toilet if water efficient toilets aren’t installed. In the workplace, water consumption related to toilets is not as important but is still significant. New water conserving toilet models use less than half the water of traditional toilets (1.5 vs. 3.6 gallons), on average. Installing water-friendly toilets saves water system capacity upstream and downstream. Even if you’re not ready to buy a two-flush toilet, you can still improve your water consumption by installing a newer model.
Showerheads, faucets, urinals, and toilets sold in the U.S. must now achieve a maximum flow rate in terms of water used. Select ones that exceed federal standards to ensure you promote higher standards. You can find independently verified products by consulting the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program.
If you need to shop for a new toilet for your organization, choose a two-flush toilet. These will save you 50% of the water needed to flush a normal toilet when you’re only flushing liquids.
Cold Drinking Water
Your employees who like to drink cold water often let the water run for a minute or two with the tap open to keep from drinking room temperature water. If your organization has a mini kitchen or a refrigerator that employees use for their lunches, keep a container filled with water in the office refrigerator. This is an opportunity to avoid wasting all that water. You’ll save gallons every year.
Recuperate Gray Water
You can install a system that recuperates gray water from your office's sinks and washing machines. A gray water system filters this waste water so you can reuse it afterwards for outside watering or your toilets. When combined with rain water, gray water can be sufficient for all the toilets in your organization.
Responsible Water Consumption
Water is needed for a variety of tasks like cleaning (clothes, dishes, people, cars), drinking, heating, garden work, toilets, etc. While carrying out these activities, make sure not to waste any water. Public water is treated and therefore needs processing with chemicals, filtration, and so on. As a taxpayer, you pay for all of this. Also, although water that’s returned to the environment is treated according to regulations, it’s not the same as it was before going into the water system, therefore it can potentially affect bio-diversity downstream. Your manufacturing processes may need water, too. Make sure water is used responsibly and that alternate solutions are looked into to avoid wasting water.
Water Barrels
Place water barrels outside to collect rain water from your workplace's roof. In most climates, there’s enough rain that your barrels will hold enough water to keep your flower beds and small gardens well watered. Have your lawn cutting company use this reclaimed water before using fresh water from the tap. You can even put your barrel on an elevated platform or up on cement blocks so you can plug in a hose for watering. If you look at the marketplace, you can find barrels already modified to plug in a hose.
Storm Water Runoff
Most commercial operations have overly large parking lots and this increases storm water runoff. When a storm occurs, rainwater falls on the asphalt and picks up pollutants that are then evacuated into designated overflow areas. Since asphalt doesn’t really absorb water, pollutants are much more concentrated within this water. When planning you site, keep this in mind and try to minimize the potential problem. Also consider the fact that heavy asphalt concentration increases surrounding temperatures and that asphalt is made from petroleum. The less asphalt you have, the greener you are.
Water Early in the Morning
Many companies have automatic sprinkler systems or have their lawns watered. If this is true in the case of your organization, make sure watering is done early in the morning. When you water in the morning, the water has time to be absorbed before it gets too hot. Evening watering is better than midday, but although absorption is good, the ground stays humid for longer, a condition in which fungus thrives!
Leftover Water
You have employees that have their own water bottles. When they come home from work with a little bit of water left in their water bottle, encourage them to use that water for watering indoor or outdoor plants rather than wasting the water down the drain. Plants aren’t picky about their water source!
Infrastructure: Water and Power
As the population grows and becomes more concentrated in and around cities, the need to have bigger water treatment plants and power systems usually arises. By reducing your organization's consumption of power and water, you help postpone and maybe avoid this increased need. Alternatives to building new water treatment facilities are now beginning to surface, such as using non-treated water from lakes, rain or rivers, and directly using this water for watering lawns, flushing toilets, and so on.
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