Tuesday, February 12

Treat Water Like Gold

Todays Water Tip:
Hot Water Troubles?.....
Three morning showers, and only enough hot water for one and a half. Does this sound familiar?
Many times people do not realize that inside their hot water tank is something called a dip tube. This tube is made of plastic and will break down over time. If your hot water begins to diminish too quickly, or if you are finding small pieces of plastic getting caught in the screens of your faucets, you may have dip tube trouble. We recently had this problem, my husband Bill replaced the dip tube, and now we have plenty of hot water, and it's twice as hot. The dip tube forces cold water to the bottom of the tank allowing the hot water to exit the top of the tank. Without a dip tube the cold water will mix with the hot water at the top of the tank greatly reducing the water temperature. An added bonus.....better pressure from your faucets after you remove the broken plastic pieces from the screens.

Treat water like Gold?
As I was doing my morning treadmill walk one day this week some words jumped out at me from the TV. I was watching the Today Show as I always do, and they were having a segment on the Georgia Aquarium. The words "we treat water like gold" caught my interest. The speaker who was being interviewed stated that water conservation is a very high priority at the aquarium. After visiting the Georgia Aquarium website, I found out that water conservation is the 2nd priority after taking care of the animals. I was impressed with what I read. Many measures ranging from water recycling, low flow faucets, waterless urinals, to low or no water landscaping, just to name a few things are being implemented at the facility. This place really knows it's stuff when it comes to conservation. If an establishment like this one, can put water conservation so high on it's list of priority's I think there is something here to be learned.

"Whats your point?" you ask. My point is that without water this aquarium would not even exist, all the animals would die. Whether a creature lives in the water or not, water is an essential element, just to stay alive. In a way, we are kind of like the creatures at the aquarium. We are all reliant upon water, and we are also reliant upon the fact that water users in our world take care of that water and treat it responsibly. We all have the responsibility to conserve and protect this resource that no one can live without. Our water is not an endless supply, in many parts of the world it is in scarcity. Most people in this country have the luxury of turning on a tap and water pours out. We can consume as much as we want or need. We all need to realize this is a "luxury", not just something to be taken for granted and wasted needlessly. Let's take a lesson from the Georgia Aquarium. Lets treat our water like gold.

The wide spectrum of water uses, turn round and round, like a
water wheel.
I welcome your comments