Saving Water - Holy Laundry Madness, Batman!

While visiting some family, I heard someone complain about water being diverted from orchards to small lakes in order to try and save an endangered species of fish. This person thought it was terrible to take water from orchards that have been around for generations, effectively killing trees and livelihoods, for the sake of an obscure fish that obviously just can't cut it.

I am also upset to hear about the orchards. Even though they are typically monocultures (i.e. not very good for the soil), they do produce healthy food and livelihoods. However, two points made me very upset. The ecological biologist in me was quite upset at such a close-minded view of the fish, for two reasons: it's likely our fault that it's going extinct in the first place, and more importantly it's part of an elaborate ecosystem that could be severely damaged, affecting animals or plants that we do care about.

The other point that made me upset was that this was coming from a person who washes at least one load of laundry per day (often superfluously), used to wash kids every night (also unnecessary unless they're really dirty), and waters the garden every single day - sometimes twice (actually bad for the garden and water supply).

The real problem with California water probably isn't the orchards or the endangered fish. It's probably the way people in California WASTE water. I waste as well, often due to habits or convenience.

Here is a shocking picture:
This is a 55 gallon water barrel, filled 3/4 of the way full with the dirty water from one... ONE load of laundry. This is an old machine, granted. I can't justify getting a new one though, 'cause it will just end up in a landfill or used by someone who will also just waste the water from it.

Either way, that's about 35-40 gallons of water that used to be considered drinkable. That's enough to sustain my family for 5 days! Kind of ridiculous in my opinion to waste that much drinkable water. Or that much water in general.

Here's a pic from the side to give a better idea of how much water it is:
I was in total shock when I came in and saw how much water goes into a load of washing. For our family I do probably 5 full loads per week. That's soooo much wasted water! So, I've come up with a plan. I'm using the water in my garden.

Say what? Oh, yeah. Garden water. Will it kill my plants? No way. I think I posted about how I do my laundry a few weeks ago. My water is totally and absolutely appropriate and most likely beneficial for my garden. Can anyone use their laundry water? Nope. You gotta look into your detergents and make sure there's no toxins for your plant or you. Also, I wouldn't use water used to clean diapers or clothing with blood, feces, urine, etc. (Unless you use a different bucket and you're doing the humanure thing... however, I doubt that's most of us at this point.)

How do I transport it? Well... that's tricky. We're thinking of getting a dolly so I can wheel this big boy out to the garden (our washer is in the garage). For now, I'm transporting it in small bucket loads so I don't kill my back. It takes a while, but it's worth it and I am watering my garden. We'll figure out a way, even if it's extending the hose so I can feed it out the window to a spot behind the fence. We'll definitely have to see how it goes.

One good thing is how much we'll save in water. I can easily water 50 sq. ft. of garden per wash load. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to saturate my entire garden, and most likely the lawn, once a week (which is all most gardens need).



Another water saving idea: When I'm in the kitchen waiting for the faucet water to warm up (usually for washing dishes), I put the water in glass jars I keep by the sink. I can fill 3-4 spaghetti sauce jars while waiting for hot water. I keep that water beside the sink and use it several ways: as our water for boiling pasta, for our filtered water, for a cup of herbal tea... almost anything. If you live in an area with mosquitos, you might want to cover yours with the lid.

I'm also thinking of having a bucket by the shower, to put in to catch water that's wasted while waiting for the shower to warm up. I probably waste so much more water than I even realize. Here's hoping we can all find ways to reduce or reuse our consumed water. 'Cause if we all did something we wouldn't need to choose between our orchards and wildlife.