Thanks 3B

[Gaye]

Thanks for the rain 3B.  It finally arrived last night.  Hope you sent enough to stay around for a while, as I'm sick of your fellow journos telling us how terrible it's going to be when we run out of water.  Could you have a word in their ear and get them to give us the occasional good news story!

[biggerbirdbrain]

Always glad to oblige, Gaye! It's slowed down considerably up here, so I'm sure that's when the water went. I have been jubilant, reveling in the bright sunshine, and my spirits have soared.

However, when we had our drought last year, I believe we may have had danced more than one rain dance that we should have, and then -- boom! the skies opened up, and then didn't stop the spouts for months. The only good thing was that the chances of fire decreased

I don't know if you go through this the way we do annually, but, by July, we're into the drier seasons, and by October, the rivers are just streambeds become muddy rocks, the birds are agape with beaks parched, and water restrictions abound. You can't burn brush and even feel guilty about flushing a toilet or brushing your teeth. However, our last two big floods were in July and September, so there's no predicting anything season-wise. Within the next 10 days, here, again the predictions are for 4 more wet ones.

Stay cool. Like they say in Texas, "If you don't like the weather, just wait 10 minutes. It'll change.

Cheers, 
3-B

[Gaye]

Well the rain has come and gone. Thankfully it was a good drop (half our average monthly rainfall in the last 24 hours).  Garden might survive a little longer.

Our weather is really weird these days.  No normal anymore.  Flowers bloom in the wrong season - just too many of those nice sunny days.

We all feel guilty anytime we use water these days - still good excuse to put off the washing etc etc.  Enjoy your sunny days. Gaye

[technomc]

Our weather in the Uk is completely up the lumm as well. Apparently it has got something to do with Global Warming...i read about it in a book...
It is a worry though...for the first time in history [it's gonna start raining meeennn] we had an earthquake in Kent a few weeks ago....tornados last year...very freaky..

[Binkie]

Hello fellow-drought-sufferer Gaye!
                                               We haven't even had a drop up here in Queensland......level 5 water restrictions now, so we can only use grey water on the garden........everything's curling up and dying....all very sad   :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

[biggerbirdbrain]

Okay, Anonsi-
This is what I found on grey/gray water.

 Any water that has been used in the home, except water from toilets, is called grey water. Dish, shower, sink, and laundry water comprise 50-80% of residential "waste" water. This may be reused for other purposes, especially landscape irrigation.
Unlike a lot of ecological stopgap measures, grey water reuse is a part of the fundamental solution to many ecological problems and will probably remain essentially unchanged in the distant future. The benefits of grey water recycling include:

Lower fresh water use
Less strain on failing septic tank or treatment plant
Grey water treatment in topsoil is highly effective
Ability to build in areas unsuitable for conventional treatment
Less energy and chemical use
Groundwater recharge
Plant growth
Reclamation of otherwise wasted nutrients

Hope that helps.
Cheers,
3-B

 

[technomc]

The water supplying my house is on a meter....expensive!! So in the summer when/if we have one....i use the bath water to water my plants....
We do take it for granted in the Uk i think....because we think we get too much rain....i can't imagine what it must be like to have toooooo much or not enough.
Us humans have a lot to answer for....
 

[bloody hell guys...is this the most sensible conversation we have ever had?? It's disconcerting to say the least!!]

[Dean]

It's kind of funny ... in July and August we usually end up on water restrictions, odd numberred houses only being allowed to water lawns on odd numberred days, even on even, etc. or even complete watering bans, however, I have never heard of anyone using grey water for their lawns/plants, although I have heard of the term before. 

It seems like a perfectly sensible idea ... perhaps that is why no one here ever thought of it!


I guess it must have something to do with the subject being discussed ... I just can't think of anything racey to say about gray water either! ... Oh well there are plenty of other topics to corrupt. 

[technomc]

Hello Deanest,
A lot of our new houses are being constructed incorporating as many ecologically beneficial products as possible.
Grey water collection is one of the cheapest and easiest to incorporate. The water from the guttering is channelled/filtered to flush the toilets. Water from baths/shower, washing machines/dishwashers are used to irrigate gardens. Solar panelling. Reed beds to filter dirty water...all sorts of things...
We have a fantastic programme called GRAND DESIGNS [on Channel 4] that highlights these things in New Builds. Check out their website if you are really interested. Start up a business....make a million...bump off the wife...move me over to project manage and design....PERFECTO....
Later 


[How sensible are we???]

[Dean]

We are also getting into a lot solar  / wind power, and many other "green initiatives" which is why I find so amazing that I had never heard, or thought, of gray water recycling.  I am going to do some research on it, if I can pry myself away from the game   

[Binkie]

Sorry, folks, I assumed that "grey water " was a familiar term! Anyway, you've all worked out what it is so there's no need for me to elaborate. Not that we have a complex system.......just an extension hose from the washing machine to water the garden with. It's quite an eye-opener to see how much water was previously going down the drain! We also wash our hands over a bucket in the laundry trough, take a bucket into the shower (do you realise how much water you waste while waiting for the right temperature?) etc etc. I think everyone here has become really water-conscious.....we're trying very very hard to conserve every drop.
Binks 

[Binkie]

And I forgot to mention our REALLY important little ditty concerning the toilet...........do not read on if you are in any way sensitive............"If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down "
Says it all, really!

[Gaye]

Binks - your little ditty is popular here in Canberra as well; though we haven't quite come to terms with implementing it yet!  I'm heading up to Brisbane in a couple of weeks so might have to comply up there - we're only on level 3 soon to be level 4 water restrictions here.

I understand there are new medical conditions being defined that are related to people wrecking their backs carrying buckets of water out to the garden.

Bring on the rain!!!!!!!!!!

[Binkie]

You're quite right, Gaye....so I'm practising my pathetic, stooped, stumbling gait, in the hope that I might qualify to use a hose. Who would have thought that one of my dearest wishes would be to use a hose again?

[technomc]

Hey Binks,
do you have a fetching codpiece to go with your hose?