to conserve water

[Moontanman]

I think it should be a criminal offense to water grass, especially a golf course. Clear all the criminals convicted of victimless crimes and put in the people who water grass! You think I'm kidding don't you

[maikeru]

Water conservation is a serious issue, for everyone, everywhere. Temperatures for the past week have been between 30-35 degrees Celsius, and the sun is hot, hot, hot; the air dry, dry, dry.

Here are some things I'm trying to do to preserve our lawn and our trees, including my fruit trees from dying in the 30-35 C heat (and it should be 40-42 C max soon).

1. Extra organic stuff/mulch on the lawn. When soil has more organic matter and a covering, it'll retain water much better. My lawn has terrible soil--it's too sandy and has little if any humus, making it poor for water retention. For me, this means visiting Starbucks a couple times a week on my shopping trips and getting several pounds of used coffee grounds. These are an easy, abundant source of something akin to leaf litter and mulch. These are scattered by rose bushes, trees, and on the lawn. It makes for a good fertilizer as well. This allows me to...

2. Reduce the amount of watering. I water every couple days in the wee hours of the morning. I see green lawns being watered at noon or in the afternoons by my neighbors. This is terrible. Where I live, early evening is not a good time to water, either. It should be done when the air is cool, the sun is not beating down on the lawn and trees, and evaporation can be more slow and controlled. This means during the night or early morning hours, when temperatures are more around like 15-20 degrees C. Also, watering infrequently encourages the grass to grow their roots deeper, increasing their drought tolerance.

3. Plan to put in more trees and bushes to provide shade. When the lawn gets full exposure to the sun all day long, it requires water all day long too. The only lovely patches of grass in my front and back yards are those by the maple trees. Everything else is yellow or brown. Note to self: increase shaded areas on the property.

4. Might buy crushed/powdered charcoal and spread this on the lawn to create terra preta. Natural processes like rain and earthworms should be able to gradually work the charcoal into the soil, and the charcoal will help increase the water retention and make the lawn greener with less work and water.

5. If I can get some vermicomposting going, I'll add the worm poop to the lawn and trees as well, to help improve their growth and the soil.

I don't like caring for the lawn. I think it's a waste of time and money. I'd much rather grow more fruit trees, grapes, or something I can eat or use. But I am trying to keep it alive to fulfill the city ordinances and to maintain harmony with the neighbors. With the proper planning and care, it should be possible to maintain a pretty decent lawn and to save a lot of water and to cut costs. Look at it as an opportunity to lower your water bill too.

[DougF]

DougF post 7
Part of the problem is not everyone is informed as to what is happening in someone else's yard/state,

I just thought you would like to know about this, (I thought it as a dead isue but I guess not)

Niagara Bottling Defends Plan To Suck 500,000 Gallons Per Day From Aquifer

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. -- For the first time, the Niagara Bottling is publically defending itself against complaints about its new Lake County plant. The company wants to suck 500,000 gallons of water a day out of the aquifer and bottle it up to sell it.

That same aquifer provides water to 99 percent of Central Florida. A Niagara spokesperson told Eyewitness News on Wednesday that water will stay in the state.

Niagara Bottling has spent $15 million to purchase and re-fit a plant near Groveland. From Lake County, the company will withdraw 177 million gallons of water from the aquifer a year and put it in jugs, at a time when Central Floridians are being told to conserve.

"The state is not running out of drinking water. The aquifer is not going dry," said Niagara spokesperson Honey Rand.

Niagara Bottling Defends Plan To Suck 500,000 Gallons Per Day From Aquifer - Lake County News Story - WFTV Orlando

But it's OK were not running out of water,
(Bull S**t) some one is lying here, and sence wells are running dry!
But then why should they allow this.

Is St. Johns River Water Management District even serious about conservation?
To hear local water officials tell it, we're in dire straits.

They don't want you to water your lawn too often, plant certain grass or even use the kind of shower heads that actually get all the conditioner out of your hair.

The St. Johns River Water Management District even has slogans to drive home the point: " Florida's water -- it's worth saving." And, "Our river needs us."

But while the district is busy preaching at you, it's prepared to give a bottled-water company the winning ticket to the Florida Watery: a permit to drain 177 million gallons of groundwater in Lake County each year.

You and your family would have to use low-flow shower heads for 64 years straight to save as much water as this company would take in a single day.

Put another way: 177 million gallons is more than twice as much OUC water as Wet 'n Wild uses in a year.

Conservationists are mincing no words in their objections to Niagara Bottling's plans.

"This is a frivolous use of groundwater," says the Audubon Society's Charles Lee.

Is St. Johns River Water Management District even serious about conservation? -- OrlandoSentinel.com

is it me? or does it seem like they are just doing whatever they want too and Dam the consequences?

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by DougF

I just thought you would like to know about this, (I thought it as a dead isue but I guess not)


Niagara Bottling Defends Plan To Suck 500,000 Gallons Per Day From Aquifer - Lake County News Story - WFTV Orlando

But it's OK were not running out of water,
(Bull S**t) some one is lying here, and sence wells are running dry! then why should they allow this.


Is St. Johns River Water Management District even serious about conservation? -- OrlandoSentinel.com

is it me? or does it seem like they are just doing whatever they want too and Dam the consequences?

It's just another example of the golden rule, whom ever has the gold makes the rules. It happens in all aspects of life, the little guy always gets the short end of the stick. When something is going wrong or goes wrong you blame the little guy and take away from the little guy. The big guys are too difficult to make do anything.

[Michaelangelica]

There are a lot of ways of saving and producing water
See the thread
"Water where will it come from in 2050"