Water Woes

Recent reports about severe drought conditions in around the country should be of concern to all Americans.

From Los Angeles, California to Texas and across the southeast continued drought and lack of seasonal rainfall have affected all parts of the American economy and family households.

Current losses for the agriculture community are said to be nearly $4,000,000.00 already this year and growing.

Lack of rain will not only affect vegetable and fruit prices, due mostly because of smaller harvest, but lack of rain might also lead to higher prices as farmers incur the additional costs of delivered water and water distribution for their livestock.

Americans in the southwest and areas of the southeast, will experience more and more water restrictions and regulations from local governments and water utilities as water resources and basins diminish.

It is a widely and well known fact that the competition about water rights and delivery for several states will have major ramifications for southwestern cities (and households) in the near future.

Homeowners need to take actions now that will lesson their dependence on municipal water resources. While I am not advocating disconnecting your current municipal water supply today, I am advocating the importance of you, the individual, being "water smart".

Either because of economic, environmental, or city and utility regulations, "smart" homeowners should begin to take actions to better use, conserve, collect and store water and specifically rainwater where they live.

Although I wrote earlier about rainwater harvesting, storage, and the use of rainwater for such things as drinking, cooling, irrigation and fire protection, I feel that water security is one area that is often overlooked by individuals and communities.

In a series of upcoming articles, I will again give ideas concerning water (rain) use, conservation, harvest and storage.

Tomorrow, for my first article, I will refer to a real city, Encino, California, as a case study for water preservation for individual, the home, and property landscape.

Encino recently enacted strict water restrictions because of drought conditions, and I will use one home there as an example of changes a homeowner can make to better control their own water use and conservation.

Brett