[Vision2020] Water: do the little things first

[Matt Decker]

Nils,

We need to save water or minimize the amount of usage or finds an alternate 
source WITHOUT halting growth.
Matt

>From: Nils Peterson <nils_peterson at wsu.edu>
>To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Subject: [Vision2020] Water: do the little things first
>Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 22:03:25 -0700
>
>Donovan Arnold wrote:
> >
>...>
> >   My apartment has a running toilet. I bet that ads up too, along with 
>1000s
> > of other toilets in the city.
> >
> >   I say before we do something drastic and costly, we do the little cost
> > effective things first.
>
>While Ivey suggests that the water rates here are twice southern Idaho, 
>they
>are not enough to get Arnold or his landlord to fix a leaky toilet. If a
>financial incentive through the water bill is not enough to get the little
>kinds of savings done (which might be the case, judging from this sample of
>one) what hope do we have of following the suggestion to do the little cost
>effective things first?
>
>And the Return on Investment/ payback period that Livingston asks about
>isn't much more motivating -- I'm spending more money now because over some
>period I'll break even and then begin saving. It would be nice to know the
>payback period, and also the estimated savings per month per toilet. I'm
>afraid the amount of savings is not going to be very motivating. My water
>bill ran $20 in March. If I could save half that by conserving water that's
>$10,  which is not nothing, isn't going to alter my life style more than a
>few lattes.
>
>I think part of the problem is the answer, for whom am I saving the water?
>is a hard one.
>
>I'm saving it for someone else to use (with what motivation?)
>I'm saving it for myself to use later (with what assurance?)
>I'm saving it because its important not to waste.
>
>Going back to Solomon's water budget. Were we to agree that there is some
>absolute cap on how much water we can responsibly pump, then we enter a 
>zero
>sum game. Its a dangerous game because it might halt growth. But its also a
>game that makes my water savings worth something.
>
>So, I get back to the earlier question. Where do you stand on the
>fundamental question -- do we need to address the declining aquifer levels
>or should we leave the problem for later?
>
>
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