Water Conservation – Why we need it. What you can do

Recently I attended a presentation by Missouri American Water Company's Environmental Manager, Tim Ganz.  Some of the things he told us about were really interesting, and I thought they would be interesting to our blog readers too.  I interviewed Tim about Water Conservation – you can read all about it here.

Catherine Redfern, World Bird Sanctuary.

Catherine:  I wanted to find out more about water consumption and the factors that affect our decisions about how much water we consume.  What can you tell us about that?

Tim:  The average household consumes about 7,500 gallons of water per month.  Missouri American Water has noticed a trend of per capita water consumption decreasing.

In the St. Louis area we are fortunate that we have an abundant supply of water.  We are seeing declines in residential water usage primarily due to factors that are more global, than local, in nature.  These include:

·      New appliances, fixtures, and toilets are much more efficient in their water usage than older models.  For example, most toilets today use between 1–2 gallons of water per flush, compared to 3-5 gallons for older models.  “Low flow” showerheads and faucets (which use less than 2.5 gallons per minute) are being installed on newer homes and as retrofits to existing home.  Front loading washers are now commonplace in many homes and use half as much water as existing washers. High efficiency dishwashers also use less water than older models.

·      Lawn irrigation creates the largest water demand during the warm weather months and irrigation techniques and equipment have become more efficient.  For example, most irrigation is done during the early morning hours to avoid water losses through evaporation. Also, some new systems have the ability to detect rain and will automatically shut the system off during wet weather.  Beyond this, many people have taken to using native plants for their landscaping which require less water than non-native species.

 

·      People’s attitudes about water use are also changing. This is especially apparent in the younger generation, who no longer view water as an inexhaustible resource.  Many are willingly conserving water and using less in their daily activities, such as shorter showers and turning the water off while brushing their teeth.

·      Weather.  The last three summers in the St. Louis region, along with the start of this summer, have been wet compared to historical records.  This has had an impact on water usage due to less watering for lawn and landscape needs.

·      Water rates. Water utilities are facing massive investment costs primarily due to aging infrastructure as many urban water systems are well over one hundred years old.  Continually tighter regulations also require upgrades to treatment systems to meet the stricter limits imposed by the U.S. EPA and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

o      The U.S. EPA says the nation’s water utilities will need to make an additional $335 billion in infrastructure investments – more than $7 billion in Missouri – over the next 20 years to replace thousands of miles of pipe and for upgrades to treatment plants, storage tanks and other assets.

o      In St. Louis County alone, Missouri American Water’s system includes about 4,200 miles of water mains, about 30,000 hydrants, more than 30 water storage tanks and four water treatment plants that deliver an average of 180 million gallons of water per day.  Much of this system is more than fifty years old and continual upgrades are needed to help ensure the continued public health, safety and economic benefits that these systems provide

o      Water rates are increasing to help utilities meet these challenges however water continues to be very affordable as most public systems charge less than a penny per gallon.  Higher rates will cause some people to do more to conserve water.

Catherine:  All these questions about water consumption made me consider where our water comes from.  We all know that the amount of water on the planet right now is the same amount of water that we will have on the planet at any point in the future.  What will change is the quality of that water.  So I asked Tim to tell us a bit more about where our water comes from, what threats our water resources face, and what we can do to protect our water sources.

Tim:  We draw the water we use from watersheds.  According to the U.S. EPA a watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place.  For example, parts of south and western St. Louis County are in the lower Meramec River watershed.  The precipitation that falls on the ground drains (eventually) into the Meramec River.

The Mississippi River is part of the Mississippi Watershed

Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes.  They cross county, state, and national boundaries.  In the continental U.S., there are 2,110 watersheds.  Watersheds are classified according to size, and large watersheds like the Meramec River may have several smaller watersheds within them, such as the Big River and Bourbeuse River watersheds.  It is important to note that everyone lives in a watershed.

It is important to protect watersheds.  Clean water is essential to life, and healthy watersheds help produce clean water.  Watersheds that are in their natural state with no development have a high capacity to retain and filter water.  This leads to lower volumes of water in creeks and rivers during storm events, resulting in reduced erosion and deposits of silt (dirt) in our waterways.  The plants in the watershed slow, filter, and retain the water that travels through the watershed.  The undisturbed soil and pervious geology within the watershed acts as a filter to help remove contaminants and nutrients from the water. 

Commercial development of a watershed area impairs these capacities as it leads to impervious surfaces and the introduction of excess nutrients and contaminants into the watershed.  Impervious surfaces, i.e. concrete/asphalt, lead to higher volumes of stormwater runoff during rain events which causes erosion and siltation issues in creeks.  Stormwater also carries contaminants from yards, parking lots, and streets into waterways, which degrades the water quality of the creeks and streams within the watershed.  Many of the urban streams within the St. Louis region, such as Dardenne Creek, Coldwater Creek, and Bonhomme Creek, have severe erosion and siltation issues for these reasons.

The birds at the World Bird Sanctuary illustrate the importance of these efforts.  Clean watersheds and rivers provide them with habitat, food, water – all the things that are essential to their survival. 

Catherine:  Can you tell us more about what Missouri American Water Company is doing to protect our watersheds.

Tim:  Missouri American Water partners with environmental organizations, such as the World Bird Sanctuary, the Open Space Council, Missouri River Relief, the Confluence Partnership, Wildcat Glades & Audubon Center, Missouri Stream Team, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, and others to help organize and conduct clean-ups, provide input on the development of watershed protection plans, and to participate in educational events about the importance of watershed protection efforts.  For example, the company has assumed a lead role in the annual Operation Clean Stream event on the Meramec River watershed.  We also participate in the Lower Meramec River Tributary Alliance project and the development of the Meramec River Basin Conservation Plan.  Both projects focus on implementing watershed protection tools to improve and restore water quality and biological integrity within the Meramec River watershed. 

 Missouri American Water has partnered with World Bird Sanctuary to install and monitor nest boxes at several Missouri American Water plants in Missouri.  Roger Holloway (WBS) and Tim Ganz (MOAW) installing a nest box at a St. Louis MOAW plant.

 Tree Swallow recorded and banded at a nestbox placed at a Missouri American Water Plant.

 Eastern Bluebird eggs recorded at a nestbox placed at a Missouri American Water Plant.

 Baby Eastern Bluebirds recorded and banded at a nestbox placed at a Missouri American Water Plant.

Missouri American Water teams have joined St. Louis Earth Day events, Science Center’s SciFest, the Little Creek Watershed Festival and other environmental education events.   These events provide a forum to discuss the importance of watershed protection as it relates to the water quality of our drinking water sources. 

The company also sponsors an environmental grant program that provides funding to environmental organizations for watershed related projects, such as installing rain gardens, household hazardous waste collections, and funding unused pharmaceutical collections.  Over the past five years the grant program has funded dozens of watershed related projects across Missouri. 

Beyond this, our teams conduct volunteer water quality monitoring on several creeks and streams, such as Watkins Creek, the Meramec River, Shoal Creek, and Otoe Creek, as part of monitoring the water quality of the streams to identify potential impairments.

Finally, we have implemented Source Water Protection Plans (SWPPS) for five of our drinking water systems in Missouri. The SWPPs focus on taking pro-active measures to ensure the watersheds and areas around our drinking water sources are protected from contamination.  The SWPPs follow a five-step development and implementation process and have been endorsed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as meeting their criteria for an approved SWPP.

Catherine:  What tips do you have for those of us who want to make changes in our daily habits to help protect watersheds?

Tim:

·      Keep litter, pet wastes, leaves, and debris out of street gutters and storm drains

·      Apply lawn and garden chemicals sparingly and according to directions

·      Dispose of used oil, antifreeze, paints and other household chemicals properly—not in storm sewers or drains

·      Control soil erosion on your property by planting ground cover and stabilizing erosion-prone areas  - install rain gardens and utilize native plantings

·      Support local government’s construction erosion and sediment control ordinances in your community

·      Maintain your septic tank

·      Purchase household detergents and cleaners that are low in phosphorous to reduce the nutrients discharged into our streams

·      Dispose of pills/medicines properly – DO NOT FLUSH THEM

·      Do not store chemicals or other contaminants near drinking water wells

·      Plug your abandoned wells

I would like to thank Tim Ganz for taking the time to answer my questions.  I hope you have learned something valuable about our important water resources and what you can to help conserve them.