1-a:

First of all, I am really excited for this blog. I am a Stream Steward for my county and I am extremely well versed in water conservation and where our water comes from. My City and County have a unique geographical location which makes our water acquisition process unique to many places here in Western Washington. With the exception of only one other county, all of our water is sourced from local aquifers. We (Kitsap County) are a peninsula located in the Puget Sound (only connected by a very small piece of land). We have no snow pack or lakes/ rivers that we draw from. In my local PUD, all of our water is pumped from two water systems(aquifers) that combine the use of 6 wells, 8 tanks and approximately 230 miles of piping, supplying over 500,000 gallons of water per day, with numbers double that in the summer. Sewer service is also provided through the local PUD, where it is also treated. We have an award winning waste water treatment plant, where after a very thorough cleaning process, the water is eventually used for crop irrigation or pumped into the Puget sound.

1-b:

TOTAL                                                                                         47

1c:

I knew going in to this experiment that it was going to be very challenging. Right off the bat, I knew that luxury expenditures like showering and laundering were not going to happen. Additionally, I consume a minimum of 1 gallon of water a day for hydration (I lift weights, need the water). This is something I am not willing to compromise on, so I will be working with one gallon of remaining water. I planned on brushing my teeth in the morning only, no showers, no laundry, no dish washing and as far as toilet usage… my plan was (for lack of a better word), keep it country. I have the property to allow me to do this, so, I watered the trees. I did have to flush once, though. I suppose I could have dug a hole, but my wife said  “NO”. As far as cooking, it was no big deal. I just age caveman style. Raw veggies and grilled meat. With these parameters in place, my experiment was a success. I used a little less than 2 gallons. A majority of my water usage, aside from hydration, was used for cleaning and sanitation. It is not a way I would choose to live. I suppose I could go for a swim to clean up, maybe redefine what I consider clean, but, it is no where close to what the American standard of living is. I feel like I’m pretty good at conserving my natural resources, but this experiment definitely sheds light on where I can work on cutting back. Living in a water rich geographical region like the Puget Sound, it might seem like we can afford to use a bit more water, but I believe this to not be the case. Water is a finite resource and despite where we live, we need to be conscientious of how much we use and to conserve where we can. In more arid regions, the conservation efforts need to be especially well observed.