Easy Eco Blog » Water

Save Money – Rainwater Harvesting – Drain Water Heat Recovery Systems

easy eco blog — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:00:52 +0000

Rainwater harvesting or rainwater collection systems are simple ways of taking advantage of mother nature to reduce your water bill and become more green.

It looks a possible drought year for the San Francisco Bay area again. Thoughts turn to capturing any rain we get to reduce our need for water and commensurately our water bill.

Rain Water Harvesting Barrels Or Cisterns

You can get started with an easy barrel or bucket under areas where rain comes off the roof. You could easily make a downspout feed into a barrel. Every 100 square feet of roof can yield 55 to 60 gallons of water per inch of rainfall. Irrigate using a shutoff valve and a garden hose. Amazon even sells Rain Water Harvesting Barrels.

Rain Garden

Store harvested rainwater in the soil by diverting roof downspouts towards shallow basins full of water tolerant plants.

More complex rainwater harvesting can be done using a living roof full of plants or a street curb side planter.

HarvestH20.com is a site with lots of tips on capturing rainwater. Several interesting videos too.

ARCSA – American rainwater catchment system association has a link page with many useful resources and examples of what others have done.

Drain Water Heat Recovery Systems

Drain Water Heat Recovery Systems heat up water by using heat from your waste water. Not many people know about these interesting systems. They are usually hooked up to sinks, showers, dishwashers, and clothes washers.

Systems cost only $300 to $500 with paybacks ranging from 2 1/2 to 7 years depending on the particular situation. Some states offer rebate, making pay back even faster.

Rainwater capture – Costco Eco Round Wooden Rain Barrel

Costco is keeping up with the green wave. They have a Eco Round 67-Gallon Wooden Rain Barrel for $199.99 shipped. A lot more expensive than using a trash can but certainly a lot more elegant.

It has a connector that attaches to your rain gutter’s downspout. A heavy duty bladder inside actually holds the water. It even uses FSC Certified Canadian Spruce wood. A solid brass tab lets you access the water

Save Money with Water Filtration – Non Green Bottled Water

easy eco blog — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:00:02 +0000

Noticed a couple water delivery trucks on the street and wondered why people would waste money on Water Delivery services. This is definitely a big business and generates lots of revenue for companies. We have covered how unnecessary bottled water is in the past.

Water.com even touts how green they are: “And, with reusable recyclable bottles and hybrid vehicles in our delivery fleet, we make it easier for you to be environmentally-friendly.”

They even offer a Water Filtration system. – “If bottled water coolers do not fit your needs, we offer a variety of quality drinking water systems.”

Water delivery trucks use lots of fuel and generate pollution. Plastic Gallon Water Cooler bottles require lots of resources to make and recycle.

Buying bottled water and schlepping it home is just as wasteful and costly. Paying $1 for a 20 oz bottle adds up fast.

Water Filters and Filtration Systems

Filtrete recently released an interesting Water Station that allows it to fill several water bottles at one time. Anything to get people off of bottled water is great to see.

Water in most locales is safe to drink. Check the EPA’s site to verify. If your water has impurities that need to be removed for taste or chemicals like arsenic, lead, perchlorate, or atrazine, install a good water filter. We have an Everpure water filter system that cost a couple hundred dollars and works well. Just change its filter every so many months.

Everpure is only recycling their water filters in California. Purcell Murray 800-892-4040 is coordinating the recycle program. Hope fully they will extend this program nationwide.

Amazon sells low cost water filters from $15. Choose from pitcher style ones from Pur or Brita or faucet mounted models. Save hundreds of dollars over bottled water each year. There is no guarantee that the bottled water is better than filtered water you can generate. Environmental Working Group has a page on helping you with filtered water tips.

Be sure to use a BPA Free water bottle to drink your water.

Save money by just saying NO to Water Delivery and Bottled water.

If you use a Brita water filter system, make sure you recycle the filter.

SteriPEN Handheld Water Purifier

Here’s a cool little tool. SteriPEN Handheld Water Purifier destroys viruses, bacteria and protozoa–including Giardia and Cryptosporidium–using ultraviolet (UV) light in 48 seconds. 90 seconds for 32 ounces of water. This is a great little tool for those traveling or camping in the wilderness. This might be useful for those with bad municipal water systems.

Make sure you use a BPA free water bottle.

Recycle Drugs, Recycle Medicine – Disposing of Medicine Properly

easy eco blog — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:00:29 +0000

October 29, 2011 is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The DEA is promoting this day for people to turn in your unused or expired medication for safe disposal. They have a local collection site locator on their website. It is important to recycle drugs and recycle medicine properly.

We all have heard of traces of drugs in the water system. It is time to make sure no one contributes to this any more by flushing expired or unused medicine down the drain. Wastewater treatment facilities aren’t designed to remove pharmaceuticals but someday may need to be.

Many local police departments take medicine waste as do many pharmacies.

FDA has some guidelines, some of which seem outdated.

NoDrugsDownTheDrain.org has a locator to help you find places to properly dispose of medicine.

Chemicals from medicines have been even measured in water from sewage treatment plants. Our waste has traces of these chemicals and chemicals from cosmetics wash off from our skin as we shower. This will be hopefully someday addressed.

China Trash Can Chinglish – Lost in translation

Here is an interesting trash can we encountered deep in the heart of China. Glad to see they are pushing recycling. Not sure why they choose Organism for Trash…

How to have a Green Halloween

easy eco blog — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:00:27 +0000

Having an Eco Friendly Green Halloween is more and more desirable these days. How can you green your Halloween?

Buy your pumpkins, squash, and other vegetables from a local farmers market or from local sources
Rent or buy your costume from used clothing stores like Goodwill. Reusing items that you already have is even better. Consider donating or giving away your costumes after Halloween.
Utilize reusable bags to hold treats
Trick-or-treat in your own neighborhood or carpool to your destination
Compost the pumpkin, squash, etc.
Give out green oriented treats like organic fruit, repurposed trinkets

With a little preparation we all can make a difference, even on Halloween.

BPA Human Study

easy eco blog — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:00:41 +0000

Credit: Washington Post

More BPA controversy. Washington Post via SFgate has some good reports on the AMA study that implicates BPA to possible health issues.

Some takeaways:

Don’t microwave polycarbonate plastic food containers. Polycarbonate may break down from overuse at high temperatures and release BPA. (Manufacturers are not required to disclose whether an item contains BPA, but polycarbonate containers that do usually have a No. 7 on the bottom.)

– Reduce use of canned foods, especially acidic foods such as tomatoes, that can accelerate leaching of BPA from the plastic can linings. Opt for soups, vegetables and other items packaged in cardboard “brick” cartons, made of safer layers of aluminum and polyethylene plastic (labeled No. 2).

– Switch to glass, porcelain or stainless steel containers, particularly for hot food or liquids.

– Use baby bottles that are BPA-free; in the last year, most major manufacturers have developed plastic baby bottles made without BPA.

Artificial Grass – Artificial Turf Synthetic Grass

easy eco blog — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:00:32 +0000

Many of us spend a lot of water, mowing, and hence money, keeping their grass green. We decided to see if moving to artificial grass would be a cheaper proposition. Some of the newer ones look pretty good.

Costco even sells artificial turf. 15′ x 25′ costs $1399. Not exactly cheap but a lot cheaper than before. It comes with upto an 8 year warranty and is pet friendly. Many are made of recycled tires or water bottles. No more weeding, watering, or mowing. Costco surprisingly has a link to a MSDS sheet that shows it is Heavy Metal free (lead free) and is primarily made of polypropylene.

Dupont has added Forever lawn that has a 12-15 year lifetime, 8yr warranty.

There has been some controversy with regards to hazardous substances in some faux grass, primarily lead in older astroturf. It does help people with pets tearing up grass or grass allergies.

Morningstarturf has analysis showing that synthetic grass pays for itself in 4 years. Of course the analysis assumes you are installing new real grass. Without installing new real grass, the cost savings is faster.

We decided to stick with our lawn for now, but will be moving to something more native and water thrifty soon.

Our Water savings tips also help you reduce your water bill.

Lower Your Water Bill Recycle water – Grey Water System on the cheap

easy eco blog — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:00:15 +0000

Grey Water home systems or gray water systems divert waste water from laundry machines, showers, sinks, etc through filtering systems and recycle water onto a home’s landscape irrigation system. Toilet water is not part of a graywater system. These systems are great way to save on water and reuse wastewater and reduce water consumption by 10 to 50%. Some systems require filters, others are more simple, utilizing gravity. Complex graywater systems can filter and disinfect graywater before it is used to flush toilets. They are expensive to have professionally installed, so some renegade sites have popped up with plans on how to roll your own cheaply.

On August 4, 2009, California changed its grey water standards, following Arizona, Texas, and other states. The new code lets you install basic, inexpensive systems yourself, with no permits needed for most. No expensive filters or pumps are needed.

Grey water cannot stagnate or pool up
It cannot make contact with animals or humans
Cannot touch fruits or vegetables, nor can it run into other people’s yard
The pipes need to be several inches underground or under mulch

Grey Water Resources:

This site has more information on Laundry to Mulch Basins systems.

Greywater Guerillas has some gray water suggestions.

Greywater action helps educate homeowners on ways to reuse graywater

Instructables.com has some detailed plans on how to construct them.

You can always catch rainwater with big garbage pails and save the water for less rainy days.

Smart Sprinkler Controllers

easy eco blog — Thu, 12 May 2011 07:00:29 +0000

Our water bill has been steadily climbing to new record levels. Water rates seem to just keep going up as a new increase was just announced in our area. It was time to look for ways to save water and money. Spring and fall are good times to look into this. There will still be rainy days ahead where we would not want to waste water.

EPA’s WaterSense web site has indicated that as much as 70% of a home’s total water use during the dry season may go towards landscape irrigation. 50% of that water may be wasted due to evaporation. EPA WaterSense Draft specifications for weather- or sensor-based irrigation control technologies are currently under development.

Drip irrigation is more efficient than spray irrigation. Little water drippers connected to a flexible tubing system can direct water to where it is needed. Utilize drip irrigation, flag drippers, spot watering, and micro spray watering heads for particular areas to maximize water savings.

Hand watering is also very efficient but painful.

Some water districts like the San Francisco Bay Area’s East Bay MUD even have rebates for using Self-Adjusting Irrigation Controllers.

Amazon has the Weathermatic line that has won awards from Consumers Digest. They have models that use on site weather stations to taylor irrigation to your microclimante.

Some controllers require a subscription to get weather information. We would recommend avoiding these models.

Rain shutoff devices are also available. These connect to your your ignition system to automatically stop watering if it is raining.

Waterless Urinals

easy eco blog — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

I encountered a waterless urinal the other day. This would be a great way to save water.

As they put it: “A Waterless fixture saves up to 45,000 gallons of water and more per year per urinal and supports our intent for sustainability of our natural resources. ”

They have several versions for the home. Urine flows through their $5.50 EcoTrap drain insert down to a drain. They have a liquid barrier to prevent sewer vapors from escaping. It does need to be changed every 1500 uses. They claim it costs $1 per 1000 uses vs $2-$6 for a conventional urinal.

Kohler sells one for under $400.

McDonald’s in France has some of these waterless urinals installed. They said it would save 150,000 Liters of water a year.

Drought Tolerant Plants, Water Conservation, Xeriscaping, Saving Water in Garden – Green your Garden – Eco Friendly Garden Quiz

easy eco blog — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 08:00:44 +0000

California is facing another drought, and so are many other states. Water use may be curtailed causing water rates to go straight up. Summer is when our water bill goes ballistic with >$100 months commonplace. Gardens use a lot of water. Lawns can easily use 50-80% of a household’s water. Our garden uses close to 75% of our water, probably because we conserve so much. Drought Tolerant Plants, drought resistant plants, and Xeriscaping, help you by saving water in garden.

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping and xerogardening (based on Greek word for ‘dry’) are landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation. Denver Water pioneered the first Xeriscape garden. They suggest the following 7 principles:

Plan and Design your garden on paper. How will it be used? Hardscaping or using soil, gravel, or rock pathways use no water. Space plants further apart to give roots more space.
Compost and mulch to help the soil retain water, prevents erosion, and keep weeds away. Some people use old newspaper as mulch. Add a generous two to three inch layer of mulch around the base of plants.
Water your garden efficiently. Intelligent sprinklers, zones, water deeply and infrequently, water in morning. Collect rain water.
Select Drought Tolerant plants and Native plants. Group plants with similar light and water requirements. Put moderate water-use plants in low-lying drainage areas, near downspouts. Plant Vegetables in shaded areas.
Plant Native grasses
Maintain your garden. Fertilize, cut grass and recycle grass, prune, compost remains.
Use water without waste with these tricks: recirculating fountains, bird bath, dry creek bed, or water jars and urns.

Some cities and water departments like Austin, Texas and Cary, North Carolina pay “cash for grass” .

Saving Water by living with Lawns

Keeping a green lawn takes a lot of care and cost.

During hot weather, lawns need 1/2″ of water ever other day.

Best time to Water your lawn, grass, or garden is early in morning to lessen evaporation. Water not at night as lawn disease may occur.
Water more deeply, not more often. Water every other day.
Make sure your sprinkler system is setup correctly, water times are set optimally, and water does not leak. Utilize drip irrigation, flag drippers, spot watering, smart controller, high tech sprinklers, rain shut off and micro spray watering heads for particular areas.

Lawn Alternatives

Ditch the lawn or replace it with artificial turf
Flowers use less water than grass.
Make your water go towards food, read Economics of a Vegetable Garden

San Francisco Bay Area Native Plants

Here are some suggestion for the San Francisco Bay Area, consult your local nursery for additional ones. Many Mediterranean, South African, and Australian plants can thrive here with low water footprints. Try to group plants of similar watering requirements.

Mexican bush sage, Mexican sage, velvet sage

photo credit: thisisbossi

Salavia Apiana

photo credit: anemoneprojectors

Achillea millefolium

photo credit: wanko

Antirrhinum

photo credit: Eran Finkle -ערן פינקל

Solanum

Bearberry (Arctostaphylos UVA-ursi), Baja fairy duster, Firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii),Wild lilac (Ceanothus), Nepeta, Lambs ears, meadow grasses, fesuca occidentalis are all good low water tolerant plants too.

San Francisco Bay Area Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency or BAWSCA has free landscape education classes and also a Lawn Be Gone Rebate program of $500-$3000.

Re-imagining the California lawn

This book includes practical advice on how to replace thirsty, water-guzzling lawns with more sustainable, drought-resistant and interesting landscapes. As the author mentions, lawns go away as water rates go up. More people are moving towards Mediterranean plants and California natives. Other lawns alternatives include kitchen gardens, rock gardens, meadows or carpet/tapestry garden.

Green Eco Friendly Garden Tools

WSJ has a review of more eco friendly green garden tools that use battery power or propane. It is good too see more alternatives to gas guzzling garden gear. Most of the products performed better than expected indicating few compromises.

Home Depot even sells corded and battery-powered push mowers, Lehr trimmer fueled by a propane canister, and the Ariens battery AMP Rider online.

Other resources

Sunset Magazine has a plant finder.

This article has tips on less thirsty landscapes including using permeable surfaces, Permeable paver stones, stepping stones, pea gravel, decomposed granite, mulch, irrigation. The article’s resources are useful.

Key elements in gardening include:

Avoiding pesticides
Composting
Drought Tolerant Plants, Xeriscaping, Saving Water in Garden, minimizing water use
Avoiding weeds, and recycling

Green your Garden – Eco Friendly Garden Quiz

How Green is your Garden? We are not asking how lush your garden is! We want to know how eco-friendly your garden is. Here are some resources to help build a green, sustainable garden.

Sunset Magazine has a hungry use your garden quiz.

recycleworks has a sustainable gardening page

Key elements in gardening include avoiding pesticides, composting, planting native plants and trees, minimizing Drought Tolerant Plants, Xeriscaping, Saving Water in Garden, and recycling.