Why Care?

Like many things around us, we seldom appreciate what is plentiful and easy to obtain. And what could be more plentiful than water? To get water all we do is just turn on the faucet 24 hours a day and its there, ready to use. But think again -- the water we use doesn't just magically appear.

Treated water is a carefully manufactured product which appears in your home only after traveling through many miles of pipeline and lengthy treatment processes. It's a valuable resource that shouldn't be wasted.

Just 1% of the entire water supply in the world is available for human use -- the rest is salty or locked in ice caps and glaciers. Just this relatively small 1% keeps all the world's agricultural, manufacturing, community and personal household and sanitation needs operating. We actually drink very little of our processed "drinking water"; around 1% of all treated water. The rest goes on lawns, in washing machines, and down toilets and drains!

Of course caring for our environment is not a new notion but concern for our rapidly dwindling fresh water supplies has only recently come to the forefront of environmental issues.  And for good reason!  What are the first 3 fundamental elements that we must have to survive? - the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.  We can only survive a very few minutes without breathable air, only about seven days without water and only a couple of weeks with food. 

Here in the United States cities, towns, communities and states are already fighting over fresh water.  It is predicted that within the next 12.5 years the number of single family homes will have doubled!  If we are already fighting over water, just imagine what the near future holds for us as the demand for water grows.  At least one US town has already been forced to rationing water. 

This is putting much needed pressure on the federal and state local water treatment and pollution control plants to improve their processes and facilities which in turn is greatly increasing the costs that cities must start transferring on to its utility customers (Atlanta GA plans a 70% rate increase for water and sewer services). In the face of rising costs for water and sewer services, conservation is good for the environment and will save you money same time. You pay for every drop, whether it's used wisely or wasted!

When you conserve water, you also save on other services. When you use less hot water, there is less energy needed to heat that water, thereby reducing your gas and electric bill. When you use less water, you also put less water down your sewer drains, thereby reducing your sewer bill. So you can see, by implementing a simple conservation program, you are helping the environment by helping ease the burden on water storage, purification, distribution and treatment facilities.