Here are just some of the good reasons to stick with our conservation habit:
- Let’s keep water where it is, as much as possible. The more water we use, the more water has to be released from reservoirs or drawn up from groundwater wells. And right now, we want them to fill up for future months of dry weather. Drought will be a frequent visitor – that’s a reality of our changing climate.
- Wastewater treatment takes energy! If we keep our showers short, keep using our buckets of shower-warming-up water for the toilet, and be careful with our use in the kitchen, we will save valuable resources “down the line.”
- Soil needs to make up for lost moisture. Drought has created a large deficit in ground saturation. Light rain events, such as we had in early November, hardly penetrate the surface of the soil. Trees and plants will thank you for your salvaged water, allowing the soil around their roots to become more deeply saturated.
- Good habits are easier to maintain than a start. Don’t let your good habits fall by the wayside. Despite the rain that is flooding our watershed as I write this, it likely won’t be long before we’re hearing again about curtailments and water use restrictions, and we’ll have to tighten up our practices once again. Just think of all you’ll have done to help in the meantime.