wasted water

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
I have a little list,
of those who won't be missed.
I try to put an active effort into keeping my list as short as possible and so far my judgements have been pretty good. No one's been missed by me or anyone else for that matter. :p

Well there was that one guy once but I circled the block and got him the second time around. After that I started driving bigger vehicles. :D
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
Maybe you should become a moderator so you can unilaterally -- and arbitrarily -- close threads that offend your sensibilities? It's the perfect job for an authoritarian.
I think that to be a Mod here you have to pass a general pubic review and acceptance relating to your credibility knowledge and overall personality first of which .......... Well you know when you tend to give a fair number of people reasons to rate you at a negative value on a 0 - 3 score card. . .:rolleyes:

Now if you wanted a job being a totally unreasonable over the top authoritarian mod that makes up his own rules as he goes along and assumes he is untouchable ETO a year or two ago might have been a better place to apply. :eek:
 

joeyd999

Joined Jun 6, 2011
5,234
Back to the original topic: My house was built in 1989, and I purchased it in 1999. I have refused to let my wife upgrade the bathrooms, solely because the law would require us to replace our awesome high-flow toilets with low-flow toilets. Sorry, but I like my business to disappear on the first try.

Likewise, my shower heads are a wondrous 100 gpm, or something. Much better than the light misters you must buy today.
 

Thread Starter

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
Back to the original topic: My house was built in 1989, and I purchased it in 1999. I have refused to let my wife upgrade the bathrooms, solely because the law would require us to replace our awesome high-flow toilets with low-flow toilets. Sorry, but I like my business to disappear on the first try.

Likewise, my shower heads are a wondrous 100 gpm, or something. Much better than the light misters you must buy today.
I agree. I love my old water wasting shower head. The truth is that I am not really sure that it wastes that much water; with the "misters" as you call them, I have to spend more time in the shower to rinse out all the soap.
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
FYI on most water saver shower heads and sink faucets there are rubber/plastic restrictors in the head or necks that can easily be drilled out to make them into high flow units.

My shower has two heads and both have their restrictors drilled out from~3/32" to 3/8" ! It's like taking a shower under a fire hose spray nozzle. ;)

Also with many of low flush toilets many of them you can make an extension piece, like a piece of rubber hose or plastic pipe, that goes on their overflow drain tube so you can raise the tank water level higher which can in many adds a good deal more flush volume. I did one once and was able to add about 3 - 4 inches more water to it which made it flush surprisingly well after that.

Still couldn't flush a mad cat down like the old high volume toilets could though but it could at least take down a angry mouse afterwards at least. :p
 
Last edited:

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
Literally speaking, the term "Wasted Water" refers to the inefficient use of water from the urban collection and distribution system.

For example, if a toilet uses 5 gallons per flush instead of 3-1/2, then the 1-1/2 gallons is considered as wasted because it is more than what is necessary to perform the task.

However, I have been a vocal opponent of low flow toilets that are limited to 1-1/2 gallons because they do not flush all the way to the street sewer and they can clog the house plumbing. However the American Standard "Cadet" from the 1960s used 3-1/2 gallons and it was considered very efficient because it maximized flushing capability while using the minimum amount of water.

Being that I am a "Dirty filthy capitalist pig", I always see value in reusing something because I can save $$$. So I bail out water from the shower/tub and pour it into 5 gallon buckets which can be used to flush the toilet and fill the wash cycle.

However the water company (the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission) has raised its rates because people are conserving and the agency isn't making enough $$$.

A prime example of a "Catch 22". :mad:
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Confirm. I was aware when there was a huge advertising campaign to save water. People did, so the water monopoly raised the price.
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Here in West Tennessee there is no shortage of water, but there is a question that I have been pondering for quite some time.

If I "waste" water, where does it go? Doesn't it ultimately wind up back in the aquifer where it came from? And if so, where is the waste?

Is water ever actually wasted, as in destroyed? I don't think so, but maybe I am wrong. It seems to me that water never is wasted. Maybe water is sometimes moved from where it is needed to somewhere else, but the water still exists doesn't it? So what was wasted wasn't the water, but rather the energy it takes to put more water back to replace what was moved.

Am I wrong?
I agree with your science but I think the devil is in the detail of time. Yes, the earth replenishes its fresh water above ground and below ground naturally, but in areas of high population concentration, I think we use it faster than the earth can replenish it. Read here about how El Paso, TX has been slowly running out of water for decades. They have nearly drained their aquifers and have had to face great engineering challenges to reclaim, get, and keep as much water as possible.

http://www.governing.com/topics/ene...l-pasos-conservation-efforts-to-the-test.html
 

Thread Starter

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
@strantor
I think you are correct. The problem is not a shortage of water on a global basis, but rather the distribution of the water and the time it takes to replenish local supplies.

So I suppose my water waste or frugality does nothing to hurt or help in California or Texas or other distant places. Frankly, I don't know what the status of the local aquifer is. I did notice that the main well that supplies the little town where I live has had all the casing pulled, but I don't know why. Maybe I should ask.
 

KJ6EAD

Joined Apr 30, 2011
1,581
I agree with your science but I think the devil is in the detail of time. Yes, the earth replenishes its fresh water above ground and below ground naturally, but in areas of high population concentration, I think we use it faster than the earth can replenish it. Read here about how El Paso, TX has been slowly running out of water for decades. They have nearly drained their aquifers and have had to face great engineering challenges to reclaim, get, and keep as much water as possible.

http://www.governing.com/topics/ene...l-pasos-conservation-efforts-to-the-test.html
The article mentions Elephant Butte Reservoir. It's only 2 million acre feet. There's another reservoir downstream (Caballo) but they need far more surface storage to capture runoff from the flash flood producing storms that they get.
 
Top