About to drink sewage - common sense wanted

[Pinecone Tortoi]

As the title says, it looks like I'm about to start drinking my fair state's sewage. I don't get a choice in this - apparently the time when 'no' was an option has already passed.

Why?

We don't have enough water. Simple as that. Our dams are at around 20% and there's no sign that they're about to be topped up any time soon. Some towns have already run out of water and are getting it shipped in. My own area is on tight water restrictions (that'll probably be going up a Level soon) - which means a hosing ban, bucket watering only on certain days of the week, 2-4 minute showers and so forth. This whole drought thing is not fun.

So... what's the purpose of this thread? To whinge and complain? Well, perhaps, but not really. Yes, this is, in part, a prayer request. I would really like some water in the dams. Maybe it'll lessen the need for them to force feed us our own urine. But I'm mostly posting this as, not a call, but a demand for action. If you're in Australia, for the love of non-recycled water, DON'T

- When you go to the toilet, leave the water running while you soap your hands. Turn it on once you're ready to wash.
- Hose your driveway. I would have thought this was obvious. And do us all a favour and get one of those button nozzles where the water only comes out when you've got your finger on it. Excellent for when you're en route from something that needs water to something else but don't want to waste it in between. Needless to say, hosing is still banned unless you're on tank water.
- Ignore a leaky tap. Put a bucket under it and put what collects on the plants.
- Use full flush on a toilet when there's a half flush option available. My house has two toilets - one's got a full flush and is in a proper bathroom and one's just a tiny room out the back with no light but it has a dual flush. So yes, late at night, I grab a torch and head out the back to use the half flush.
- THIS IS A BIG ONE - DON'T SHOWER FOR MORE THAN FOUR MINUTES. It bites, yes. My water doesn't heat up until about 1-2 minutes running. So I try to ignore the temperature and wash my unfeeling hair until the water's warm enough to get directly under. Or you could use a bucket before it heats up. But if I, who used to take 15-20 minute showers can cut down to 2 minutes and 59 seconds, let's see what you can do.

Wow. Lookit the rant. Well, you know what? I'm really, really annoyed at people who think it's not going to happen to them, that we're still living in the Lucky Country and that our fantastic, democratic government is going to fix it all. Well, no. We're about to be made to drink 'recycled water' - which is basically what you flushed this morning, minus the bad bits. I don't doubt that it'll be healthy, clean and harmless, but the point is, WE SHOULDN'T HAVE LET IT GET THIS FAR. I know I and my extended showers had a big role to play in this, but here's me saying SORRY and suggesting we GET ON with reversing this water crisis.

And yes, we hope the government will do something about this, but the fact is, they can pass all the laws they want, but aside from stationing armed police officers outside every bathroom, cubicle and drinking fountain, they can't change what people do. That's we're we come in. We're the people and it's time for us to really change. Go extremist on this one because we've got millions of people here and our dams have only 20%. We can't afford to waste it. We're already about to drink what we pass - I don't want to find out what the next 'remedy' will be if we don't change now.

(Oh, and if you're not in Australia and not currently experiencing a water crisis, please adopt these measures anyway. CLimate change is not your friend. Any guesses how long it'll take before this happens to you? These are simple, good habits to get into. Never know... maybe we'll start a conservation revolution.)

And any prayers for water in the dams (except for those non-conformist parts of Australia that are currently FLOODING (cause we don't wanna drown 'em more) or ON FIRE (I'm pretty sure they'd appreciate it on the fire more than in the dams)) would be VERY appreciated.

Stay tuned for the next rant on saving electricity with such simple steps as TURNING APPLIANCES OFF WHEN YOU LEAVE A ROOM (oh bother. There goes most of my material. Hmm... well, if I notch up to 30% more pointed adjectives, hopefully no one'll notice.)

Gotta scoot,

Piney.

[Warrior4Christ]

Aye, yep. We're at level 3 restrictions here. I heard we need three years of above average rainfall to break the drought. But this summer's unexpected rain did help some. Hopefully my drinking water will still be able to come from the rainwater tank...

Whereabouts are you from?

Stay tuned for the next rant on saving electricity with such simple steps as TURNING APPLIANCES OFF WHEN YOU LEAVE A ROOM (oh bother. There goes most of my material. Hmm... well, if I notch up to 30% more pointed adjectives, hopefully no one'll notice.)

I think certain businesses/companies are quite wasteful. I go in to uni during the HOLIDAYS, and the lights in the lecture rooms are still ON. Also a labful of computers are on, with maybe peak attendance of three or four people in the room. I also worked at a restaurant washing dishes, and the water usage there is painful to think about...

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I have one thing to say:

common sense wanted

Sure not going to find any here on CAA. This is after all... the nuthouse.

[CreatureArt]

Sure not going to find any here on CAA.

Seconded.

Actually, Tortoi, I can be pleased to report that I adopt those measures anyway as part of my routine, all except for the shower part (I tend to have short showers anyway but I have thick long hair which can take a little longer to wash). We live on tank water and I've developed most of those habits from long, dry Summers in years past.

I hope the water situation gets better for all you up there. I consider Australia as a neighbour country so I'm sad that you're having such a hard time with the drought. I'll pray.

[Radical Dreamer]

Well, I don't live in Australia, so all I can really do is pray, but you do have some good ideas about conservation that we can all put into practice. I think the only one I wouldn't be able to cope with is the shower time--mine last around 15 minutes or so--but your 2 minute and 59 second record has me totally impressed. XD Anyways, I'll be praying!

[Pinecone Tortoi]

your 2 minute and 59 second record has me totally impressed.

Don't be. I'm an absolute tragic. As soon as I'd posted this whole 'in-your-face-and-jabbing-around' rant, I went and absentmindedly used the full flush toilet. Just how hypocritical can I get? No, don't answer that, I don't want to know! Still, humiliation tends to make things stick... so hopefully I'll be more alert to old habits. ^^;;;;;;;

Mr SmartyPants - Don't worry - sanity is not required here. As long as you can be trained to mindlessly follow the above water-saving steps, you probably don't need to worry about clarity or sensibility of thought. ^^

CreatureArt - NEIGHBOUR!! ^^ Oooh, you sound like a regular water-cautious guru. It's so nice to hear I'm not the only one on a hair-brained crusade. I IS NOT INSANE!! SEE? THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE LIKE ME! EITHER YOU HAS TO ACCEPT THAT I IS NORMAL OR YOU HAS TO REDEFINE 'NORMAL'! Whee.

Warrior4Christ - IF KIWIS COUNT AS NEIGHBOURS, I GUESS THAT MEANS WE'RE ROOMMATES. OR AT LEAST THAT SOMEONE GOT INTO SOMEONE ELSE'S BACK YARD AND THE SOMEONE ELSE HASN'T CALLED THE COPS YET. ^^ Yeah, I'm up north a bit. XD Though seeing as you're already in Adelaide, I guess it's get more vague than 'up north a bit'. No offense meant - I just tends to be a bit... non-definite... about my locale online. Me dad raised me to be quasi-paranoid about this 'ere so-called 'internet' - and I learnt quick. ^^

And I know... I heard this thing about someone trying to get all businesses in Sydney to switch of their lights at 7:30 at night. Wouldn't it be lovely if they actually DID that (well, the ones that weren't still working, at least)? Wonder if there's some way we could start a movement to help her movement? Like all of us who have business/parent's with business doing it and then encouraging/guilting other businesses into following suit? It's a thought... but hey, this is the nuthouse, right? I guess that means our thoughts are crazy... so crazy they just might work... ^^



Thanks everyone for taking the time to read! And BIG thanks to everyone praying! It's, like, encouraging. *grin*

Piney.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Holy Smokes? So you guys are on higher than Level 5? That sucks majorly. I'll be praying mate! We need to kick the big businesses and rich people up the butt about their water usage too.

Radical Dreamer, 15 minutes showers is wasteful even in non-drought times. That's what baths are for.

Frankly I'm a bit disgusted by some of the posts here. This is no laughing matter. Just because you don't live in the dryer parts of Australia and don't have to drink crap literally. Okay, sorry but I'm mad.

[Puritan]

I'd be a little careful about blaming big business and the rich, everyone contributes in one sense or another, and I doubt you want your power and water supply to go out (after all, you need the former for the latter). Businesses can be wasteful, but they do need a great deal of water to keep society running. A big power plant needs tens of millions of gallons of water an hour to operate (I am not exaggerating, this water is simply necessary for cooling, though power plants fortunately don't need treated water), and many industrial processes need water to operate (for cooling and whatnot). Add in the water needed for agriculture, and you have a whole lot of water that is needed simply for the underpinnings of society. Though you could cut out some, the vast majority of this water is simply necessary for society to run, and the amount of water needed makes most regular people's usage look like a drop in the bucket. I certainly agree that people need to be careful with their water usage, doubly so in a drought, but please do be careful pointing fingers and blame, there are many factors that go into problems like this, and they are not as easy to solve as one might think.

[Pinecone Tortoi]

So you guys are on higher than Level 5? That sucks majorly.

Naw... we're only on Level 4 - but it seems like only a matter of time before Level 5 comes down. Still planning to go ahead with the 'making us drink sewage' scheme.

Puritan - Oh, I know big business needs HEAPS of water. But I'd also hope they take HUGE steps to cutting their costs. Like installing dual flush toilets in every cubicle, replacing taps with those taps that go off automatically after so many seconds and definitely not leaving lights on overnight when there's no one there.

Personally, I think the people we have the most chance of making a difference with is the general population. I'm talking about people who have long showers, don't think about the amount of water they use for washing hands and dishes, who use hoses liberally and pour excess water down the sink instead of on plants. That's what I'm mainly trying to address here. (Though if anyone reading this happens to have influence over big business, pointing out that they should tighten up their water usage would be appreciated. ^^)

Piney.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I don't see why the government uses the water they drain off to get salt.
Or why they don't pump sewerage out to fertalise crops. Leave the good water for drinking I say.
Seriously if a lot of research was done it could work. We need to learn from the Aboriginals. They survived with very little water.

[Angel37]

In my prayers hun. God can do all things. He can provide water for you guys!

[Nate]

I was in the Navy for six years. I am capable of taking a 1 1/2 minute shower. *wins*

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I was in the Navy for six years. I am capable of taking a 1 1/2 minute shower. *wins*

All hail Nate and his mad showering skills.

[Pinecone Tortoi]

Warrior4Jesus - Aye. Can't help but think there's a lot of things they could be doing before feeding us this dung. Don't exactly know what they are, but you hear news of scientists making conservation breakthroughs - only never to hear of that breakthrough again. What happens? Why don't people jump on the bandwagon of funding these oh-so-necessary projects?

Angel37 - Thanks! ^^

Nate - 90 seconds? Whoah... nice. Sweet skillz there! Hmm... well, guess that means I should try to beat it, huh? Sir, I take up your challenge! (And that's setting aside my much-hair-handicap. Guess if I can't shower quick enough, I should look into a haircut.)

PEOPLE, WE HAVE A CHALLENGE

Less than 90 second showers. Let's go, folks. ^^

Piney.

[CreatureArt]

I may give it a go... but to be honest I don't have a waterproof stopwatch and the showing skills of you and Nate leave me afraid, Pinecone. ^^;

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Radical Dreamer, 15 minutes showers is wasteful even in non-drought times. That's what baths are for.

Last time I checked, girls took longer to shower than guys. So I don't see the big deal here.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Yes Ryan, but these are desperate times. And 15 mins is a lot of water usage.

[Sammy Boy]

Pinecone - are you in QLD mate? I'm in NSW. Our dams have around 10% more water than yours, but fact is, water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource in Australia.

The things I wished the federal government would do was to look into solar power and managing water supplies better.

Do you or anyone else know of any reputable environment groups that concerned citizens can support?

[Doubleshadow]

I was in the Navy for six years. I am capable of taking a 1 1/2 minute shower. *wins*

Sheesh. I can't even do my hair in that time.

I've been keeping up with news about the drought in Australia since you posted about it a while back W4J. I was thinking about you the other day when I was reading an article about the flash floods the major thunderheads were causing down there.

I don't know how many Americans can really appreciate a good drought. When I lived in New Mexico, water was a HUGE deal. There were very strict rules on water and heavy penalties for breaking them. Albuquerque, where I lived, got its water from an aquifer under the mountains, but it was slowly being drained dry and the government was worried. Also, most of the rivers were being fought over by different cities and states for water rights, and those rivers were heavily burdened as it was. Its been decades since the Rio Grande actually reached the Gulf.
Spain was pretty bad, too. Their drought meant lots of fountains and ponds were dry in places like the Ahlambra. They had commercials advertising water restrictions.
Of course, the biggest reason I know about this is where I live now. You would think living between two rivers would prevent water troubles, but no. My dad is the manager of our county's water and sewer systems that actually branch out into neighboring counties. Here lots of people still use their wells because the houses are higher than the water tanks on the hillsides (my mother and I were listening to that song 'Seasons in the Sun' when she said, "I remember listening to this song while pulling rainwater out of schoolhouse cistern with a pail and haystring.") Because the wells are limited, lots of old folks have no washers or anything like that because they use too much water. My mom said her whole family of seven would reuse the same bathwater (all one inch of it) after duties like throwing hay. Yuck. Nowadays, the problem is people being wasteful. They move in to these old houses with wells and squander the water in no time flat, running the old wells dry. Of course the biggest problem is people stealing water. I mean thousands of dollars worth of water by breaking their water meters, and because they're on state assistance, my dad can't prosecute.
And then there's the wells that my dad uses. The river water isn't safe to drink because of the amount of industrial run off in it. So we use wells. We actual have some of the best water in the country in terms of cleanliness and taste, treated to the minimum government standard because it doesn't need it. So whats the problem? Coal mines. The nearby coal mines are dangerously close to the wells and deeper than they are. We could lose the entire series and most of our water, not that the coal companies care.
Oh, yeah, and then we have droughts, too. A few years ago our levels were dangerously low, so naturally people squander water more than normal on important things like filling up their swimming pools. But my dad was told not to issue a water warning because the last time they did that, the water drained away completely as everyone hoarded it before it was gone. Fun stuff, water politics.

[Pinecone Tortoi]

CreatureArt - Nate's skillz leaves me way behind! I had a crack at the 90sec shower this morning and FAILED! Was only about 2 min, but even so! How does he do it... o.O

Mr SmartyPants and W4J - Yup, we is talking desperate here. So desperate that, seein' as I'm now doubting my ability to make this 90sec time with so much hair I is honestly considerin' CUTTIN' IT SHORT. Maybe start a 'Shave to save' campaign or something - mostly to raise awareness rather than actually cut the time. Whatcha think? Offer to cet a short haircut if I can get enough people signing on to try for 90sec as well? Would it work? Would my hairdresser be able to not leave me looking completely odd? Would anyone even bother to sign up? Hmm...

Ultra Magnus - Ugh, you and me both. I know there's some places out there - like an environmental shop called 'Biome' (which sells, amongst other things, recycled car tyre notepads, circuitboard notepads, hemp bags, shower timers and water powered alarm clocks) but I'm not aware of an actual conservation group we could support. Presumably there's a few that adopt the cause, but I'm not sure which ones. What say we start one of our own? Some online water saving movement? Sounds fun, eh?

Doubleshadow - Like, wow. Seems like a global thing - where you get a water crisis, you get people stubbornly refusing to make changes. Your poor dad - rough job. What sort of steps does he take to get people to cooperate?


Thansk again for lookin' twice at this thread and for your prayers. I think I heard a forecast of 'showers and thunderstorms' for this evening... though it remains to be seen if it goes in the dams or happens at all.

Piney.

[Nate]

CreatureArt - Nate's skillz leaves me way behind! I had a crack at the 90sec shower this morning and FAILED! Was only about 2 min, but even so! How does he do it... o.O

I have short hair. And I'm a guy. :p

[Pinecone Tortoi]

I have short hair. And I'm a guy. :p

XDDD Sweet strategy. Though I may be joining you in the 'short hair patrol'. Maybe. I'm seriously considering this 'shave to save' thing. You reckon I'd get enough people interested if I went ahead with it?

CONGRATS AND RESPECT AGAIN!!

Piney.

[CreatureArt]

I have short hair. And I'm a guy. :p

Now that makes sense!

I think that you may get quite a few people join you in cutting your hair in your area if its to do with saving water, Pinecone. Let us know if you do!

[EireWolf]

You could get people to sponsor you to shave your head, and donate the money to water conservation efforts. You could probably get publicity for it if you tried, in local papers and such. Then you'd raise awareness AND help the cause financially.

[Pinecone Tortoi]

CreatureArt - Naw, not to cut their hair too (though they could if they want, I guess), but just to get them to sign on to do little things like using a half-flush toilet, not leaving water running while you soap your hands, not hosing and aiming to take 90sec showers.

Eirewolf - Mmm. I like the idea, but I'm less sure about the 'being trusted with money' side of things. That just reeks of paperwork. Promoting causes people could give to is one thing, but getting people to give ME money sounds... complicated. Still, directing people to supporting it financially really is something to think about. I just shy away from the idea of making this whole scheme too complicated. People get... elusive... when money's involved, I think. But just getting them to save water SAVES them money on their water bill and I suspect I'd get more participants that way.

Anyone interested?

Piney.

[Nate]

I bet if I got my hair cut military style again I could take a one minute shower...

[CreatureArt]

I'll sign on for taking quick showers. I think I do the others by routine anyway, but I can work on that one. so count me in!

I like Eirewolf's idea. If you wanted to go down that route you could probably get a good public response from it and raise awareness.

Oooo military cut. Yeah I find for me that its washing hair that takes the most time. However, if you are really water conscious, you can stop the shower while you apply and massage in the shampoo/conditioner and save water that way.

[Mithrandir]

I bet if I got my hair cut military style again I could take a one minute shower...

I know a guy who did this. 45-60 second showers every day. He could literally jump out of bed 5 minutes before leaving for class or whaterver and be totally ready.

I wanted to punch him in the mouth.

[Nate]

However, if you are really water conscious, you can stop the shower while you apply and massage in the shampoo/conditioner and save water that way.

Actually, you could get what we had on the ship. Since the ship has to conserve as much water as possible, we didn't have showerheads. We had...gah, my explanation skills are so horrible. It was a small spray nozzle that you had to press the button for water. So you'd spray yourself down, soap up, rinse, do the hair...in the course of a shower you really only had the water running for a total of about 30 seconds. That would be a big help.

[EireWolf]

Hmmmm... well, instead of money, you could ask people to pledge to use less water in specific ways, like the ones you've mentioned here. You could still drum up publicity to raise awareness. It's obviously something you're passionate about.