Coping with Water Scarcity

I jumped the gun a little bit last week, writing about World Water Day. But today is actually the day itself, and amazingly enough, here in our springtime desert, we have had a night and morning of gentle rain. It's been a winter of El Niño-induced precipitation, far more than the usual winter amount, but it all stopped about two months ago. So this wave of rain storms brings a welcome smell of wet earth and new life to the yards and gardens in the neighborhood I walk through with our dog every morning and evening. If you explore the site link to World Water Day you will soon learn that water is indeed the gift of life itself, and is a resource that is extremely imperiled. The theme of this year's WWD is Coping with Water Scarcity. Most of us take it for granted - open the faucets and out it pours... we brush our teeth, shower, water lawns and plants, wash cars, boats,dogs; powerwash driveways and houses, ignore leaking toilets, faulty icemakers, oh...on an on.

Those who live in desert areas are usually more aware of what a precious commodity water is, but even we often take it for granted, at least until summer or an extended drought bring tighter rules and rationings, and the water police start driving through the neighborhoods. And as we watch our carefully planted landscapes wither and die, hopefully we realize that grass is a senseless luxury. For millions of people around the world, water scarcity means not that their grass is dying, but that their children are. Unless we start paying a whole lot more attention to this resource, even the "developed" nations will feel that terror. So, to play my part in commemorating WWD, I offer a couple of websites for your consideration. This one, from The Nature Conservancy, Sustainable Waters, is a tool and a resource that may seem to have more information than you can possibly absorb. Hang on to it, explore it a little at a time. You don't have to be a scientist, or a policy maker, to start making a commitment to conserving freshwater ecosystems for people and for nature. The second website is pure pragmatism: Water, Use It Wisely. Gotta tell ya, I've been a water-conservation geek for most of my adult life, and I thought I knew it all when it comes to water-saving ideas and tricks - but this site is an amazing resource that I will use extensively from now on. One of the best parts of this resource is 100 Ways to Save Water, a map broken up into the four quadrants of the USA, each fourth with its own 100 suggestions. It had been my intention to make this post a series of bossy suggestions for saving water in your home and landscape, but water, Use It Wisely does a far better job than I ever could.

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