Most Americans take drinking water for granted, turning on the tap and getting a fresh, clean supply. That’s not the case in every region. Here is some food for thought for the next time you turn on the tap.

Water Shortages are expected for most of the country in the near future

Water is becoming increasingly scarce around the globe as more and more is needed to sustain human development. Part of that is because only 1 percent of the Earth’s freshwater is easily accessible to humans. It’s expected that as many as 36 states will have water shortages by 2013.

Several states, particularly those in the Southwest, such as California, New Mexico and Texas, are already struggling with shortages. Making a bad situation worse, the South is experiencing unprecedented drought at “exceptional” levels. The combination of little rain and scorching heat drains reservoirs and increases water consumption, and there’s simply not enough to go around.

Every community is having a dilemma- even big cities

Lack of access to water is often framed in terms of “remote, rural communities” that are cut off from municipal systems, but the shortage goes beyond questions of access. It’s also about water quality. Contaminated drinking water sickens an estimated 20 million Americans every year, especially in concrete-heavy urban locales.

When it rains in cities, the water hits rooftops and concrete instead of being absorbed back into the ground. It runs off of streets and sidewalks, picking up all sorts of bacteria, pollutants and chemicals along the way. That winds up in our water system, into streams, rivers and lakes that we use for swimming and drinking water.

Treatment plants clean that water, but because of outdated infrastructure, the process doesn’t always succeed. A city has way more concrete, pavement and other hard surfaces now than it did when its water system was built, and it can’t handle that amount of development. We’re left with storm water runoff that can’t all be cleaned.

Bottled water isn’t the solution

Bottled water costs 2,000 times more, although it’s less regulated than our tap water in many ways.  The National Resources Defense Council investigated and found that 22 percent of bottled water was contaminated with chemicals, including arsenic. Bottled water also has other environmental problems, like the plastic involved and all the water that goes into manufacturing water. It takes 1.8 gallons of water to produce a plastic bottle. So by drinking bottled water we’re wasting more water than we’re actually drinking.

Yes you can make a difference

The concept of water conservation has been drilled into us for decades, but it hasn’t exactly caught on. Americans are the world’s biggest consumers, using an average 150 gallons a day. By comparison, in the U.K. people use only 40 gallons a day. Actually doing all those little tips and tricks you’ve heard — taking shorter showers, turning off the water after wetting your toothbrush in the morning — can go a long way in protecting a limited resource.

If everyone changed just one small habit, we could have a significant impact. Direct action and advocacy does work. People can affect the decision making that goes on in their neighborhoods and communities.

This is a question very few people comprehend. First, you need to understand the difference between Hard water and Contaminated water.

What is “Hard water”?

Hard water is probably the most common water problem found in the home. Water described as “hard” is high in dissolved minerals, specifically calcium and magnesium.

As water moves through soil and rock, it dissolves very small amounts of minerals and holds them in solution.  Calcium and magnesium dissolved in water are the two most common minerals that make water “hard”.  The degree of hardness becomes greater as the calcium and magnesium content increases.

Hard water is not a health risk; in fact, its mineral content makes it healthy for your body. Hard water as defined by wikipedia is water that has high mineral content.  This content usually consists of high levels of metal ions, mainly calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in the form of carbonates, but may include several other metals as well as bicarbonates and sulfates.  Untreated hard water can leave the skin feeling dry; this is caused from the calcium and magnesium sticking to the skin.

What is “Contaminated Water”?

Contaminated water is water that has chemicals in it.  This water still has the calcium and magnesium in it but also has been influenced by something it picked up in the environment.

If you are on city water the most dominant contaminant is chlorine or chloramines.  There is a good side and a bad side to this.  The good side to adding chlorine or chloramines to the water is it kills bacteria, without it being added to the water, out breaks of disease would be prevalent.

On the other hand by adding it, it causes problems with humans as it is designed to kill living organisms “people”.  This is why if you are city water you should have some type of water filtration system to filter the chlorine or chloramines.  If you are on a well you may think you are safe because you don’t have chlorine.

Think about this though, how many pesticides, gasoline additives, and paint thinners to name a few go into the ground water?  Water that becomes contaminated is unsafe to drink or bathe in.  That leads to the question, do I need a water softener or a water filter.  The answer to that all comes down to where you get your water.

The main purpose of a water softener is to deal with the water “hardness”.  There are many different types of water softeners.  There are ion exchange methods, magnetics, electrical, and catalytic methods.  All of these methods have their pros and cons but they all deal with the effects of hard water can have on you home.

A water filter by itself will only deal with the contaminants in your water.  There are just as many water filters as water softeners.  A carbon filter is a type of filter that will remove the most contaminants by itself.  These filters are capable removing or reducing hundreds of contaminants in the water.  A water softener is not something you need, however a water filter is always a good idea.

Besides improving the taste of the water it dramatically improves the effects.  Most people claim to have softer skin and hair after using a water filter.  Whether you are on city water or a private well or another type of water source, a water filer is recommended.

If you have hard water and you want the best of both worlds, a combination of a water filter and water softener is the best solution.  Again, there are many different companies offering many different systems to accomplish the softening along with contaminant removal.

The technology in both water softening and water filtration has come a long way in recent years and it just keeps getting better.  Water is an essential part of our lives and it is something we deal with on a daily basis and because of that it important to understand it and get the very best from it.

Do I need a water softener?

Most people who have hard water are generally aware that they have an issue.  If you are one of the lucky ones who live in an area where there is soft water there is no need for a water softener.  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, more than 85 percent of the United States geography has hard water.

If the conditions of the water require a water softener, it is best to shop around and find the best solution for your particular situation.  Some things to consider if you are in the market for a water softener, does your state or county have a ban on salt water softeners, if they do have a ban consider a salt-free water softener alternative.

Can you run a drain line and do you have enough space for installation?  If you are looking at a traditional salt-based water softener remember that the plumbing in the kitchen for cooking and drinking should be bypassed if possible, if not possible then installing an under sink reverse osmosis filter may be your only choice.

Drinking the water from a traditional salt-based ion exchange water softener is not recommended for good health.  Salt Free Water Softeners offer an alternative for people who are concerned with their health and for people who are tired of dealing with the maintenance associated with traditional salt based water softeners.

With the different options available today, it is quickly becoming apparent that the newer water softener technologies are playing a larger role in the market place.  The Internet has made it easier for people who are in the market for a water softener to explore the different options available.

When it comes to saving water in the kitchen, a few small steps can make a big difference. Consider these tips for reducing your water consumption every day.

Rather than running the tap when cleaning vegetables, use a bowl of water. Later, reuse it to water outdoor plants. Reusing water from rinsing out the coffeepot for outdoor plants, the compost or lawn is something we do all the time.

Rich in nitrogen as well as some trace minerals, coffeepots should be diluted with water before using. Choose a different group of plants every day and you may find you no longer have to water or fertilize them very often at all.

Cooking water (pasta, steamed vegetables, boiled potatoes etc.) can be used in the same way – just let it cool first. All of these water sources contain extra nutrients that will aid your gardens immensely.

Very hot cooking water can be used to kill weeds – simply pour it directly on the weed and around its roots.

After meals, scrape your dishes into the compost bucket before rinsing. While rinsing, place other soiled dishes, jars and utensils underneath while you work; it will begin the pre-soaking process – reducing labor and water use. Anything caught in the sink basket can be contributed to the compost, too.

Save about 5 gallons of water per washing by doing dishes in a few inches of hot soapy water. It may seem funny to do this – but by turning the hot water tap on to rinse the dishes into the sink the level will slowly increase and will maintain a hot temperature. This way, another sink full of water solely for rinsing is no longer necessary. We sometimes use rinse water to pre-soak stuck on dishes as well.

Store drinking water in the refrigerator. Rather than letting the tap run to get a cool drink of water. If you don’t like the taste of your tap water, purchase a filter pitcher or add a filter to your tap. You will save money over buying bottled water, and the energy used, and the pollution created to produce, ship, and dispose of all those plastic bottles.

Control the aerator of your faucet. The screw-on tip of the faucet, called the aerator, ultimately determines the maximum flow rate of a faucet. Aerators are inexpensive to replace and they can be one of the most cost-effective water conservation measures.

Now, if you measured the amount of water saved each day by those simple methods we just described – there would be dozens of gallons of pure, drinkable water left untouched in the reservoir. By reducing hot water consumption, our energy bills are a little bit smaller. All this, just from the kitchen sink!

-By Sarah Bankoff

It seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? Everyone knows that a garden has to have water to thrive. But drowning your plants in water is just as harmful to them as not watering them at all. So, to try to help you figure out how much is exactly enough, here’s your quick and dirty guide to watering your garden.

First of all, ensuring that your plants get the right amount of moisture where they need it is not just a matter of spraying them with water. Like most things in gardening, it goes back to the soil. Too much water in the soil will make it heavy and collapse it around the roots, effectively smothering the plant. However, too little moisture in the soil will cause the plants to wilt and dry out, which is also, obviously, not conducive to healthy vegetables. The trick is to get the balance of wet and dry just right.

So how much is too much?  The amount of water needed by the plant depends on its stage of growth and development. Seeds and transplants need wetter soil than healthy, mature plants. Seeds require lots of moisture to sprout properly, and transplants require lots of water to root properly. Once the soil is wetted down to around eight inches in depth, organic compost should be placed around, not on top of, the seeds or seedlings, which will help the soil to hold in the moisture and keep it from getting too soggy.

Seeds should be watered often, but shallowly. Mature plants should be watered less often, but the soil should be watered to a greater depth.  Most vegetable plants use water in the top 12-24 inches of soil. Shallow-rooted plants, such as cabbage, onions, lettuce and corn need to be watered more often than deeper-rooted vegetables like asparagus, tomatoes and watermelons.

Obviously, plants need to be watered more during hot seasons then during cooler seasons, but a good watering every five to seven days during the warm season should be fine for well-rooted, established plants. Plants should be watered in the morning so that all the surfaces have time to dry out in the sun to prevent fungus and mold from forming. Since the roots of the plant are actually where the plant “drinks” from, this is the most important part to irrigate, but remember, it’s drinking, not swimming, so don’t drown the plant’s roots!

Who’s Green  has decided to give water use a little extra attention in 2010.  We believe there are many steps, large and small, each of us can take to help keep an ample supply on hand. This is not only for ourselves but also for those who follow.  We will continue to provide you with useful information in a number of other areas while creating a greater awareness on how this natural resource can be used more wisely.  Because you use water in every area of your life we will present you with ideas for the home, the workplace, in business, and within the community.

Who’s Green enjoys helping you explore greener living.  In our efforts to share both simple and practical choices we will cover a wide range of ideas:

• For the home we will offer tips and suggestions such as not leaving the water running, installing more efficient nozzles and toilets, and creative methods like rainwater harvesting .

• At the workplace we will remind you to actively look for ways your employer can conserve water and give tips on greener habits for you to adopt as we continue to discover them.

• In business we will provide you with information on joining incentive based programs, the various workshops being offered, and finding organizations that offer you support.  Each of these is designed to help you save on costs as well as water.

• We will pass along different ways you can become involved  in our community whether attending special events, participating in educational programs, or opportunities to volunteer.

As always our greatest source of information is you in the community. For this reason we continue to welcome your feedback and ideas. Remember, we all enjoy the many benefits of water; drinking it, bathing in it, and growing things with it just to name a few.  So lets all join in on using it more wisely.

Be sure and check our site for information on these upcoming events:

The Water Project- March 26-28.. For more information visit their website: http://www.waterprojectfestival.org/

Watershed Management Group is a Tucson-based non-profit with the mission to improve people’s lives by integrating community development and conservation. We provide people with the knowledge and skills necessary to sustainably manage their natural resources.

Our work includes: increasing vegetation in neighborhoods through stormwater harvesting, making conservation technologies affordable, using rainwater and greywater to irrigate landscapes, restoring riparian areas to have healthy in-stream flows, and building community through hands-on, educational projects.

Learn more about Watershed Management Group by visiting our website at www.watershedmg.org