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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Water Bottle Safety... Fact or Fiction?


In this day and age of increased water awareness, more people are drinking bottled water. In 2008, Americans drank 9 billion gallons of bottled water, which comes out to be approximately 30 gallons per person that year. Bottled water is convenient and seems innocent enough, but is bottled water safer than tap water? Not necessarily.
 
Tap water is tested multiple times a day to ensure that the water is safe to drink. In Athens, the water that reaches your tap is tested every hour of every day! Bottled water however, isn't tested as often. A study conducted by the Natural Resource Defense Council tested over 1,000 bottles of water. “About 22 percent of the brands we tested contained, in at least one sample, chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health limits.”  They also found that some of the bottled water was just tap water, 25% or more in fact. The tap water in some cases was treated further, other cases it wasn't.
 
If you haven't noticed, bottled water is expensive!  Why buy bottled water when there is water coming from your tap? Bottled water can cost anywhere between$1 and $5.  Let's say you buy a $2.00 20 ounce bottle of water, did you know that would equal $12.80 for a gallon of water! That's more than three times the price of a gallon of gas! Now look at the table below and see how much a gallon of water costs in Athens-Clarke County.

Tier 1: Winter Average (WA)
0.00342 cents/gallon
Tier 2: 10% over WA
0.00428 cents/gallon
Tier 3: 10-25% over WA
0.00513 cents/gallon
Tier 4: >25% over WA
0.00855 cents/gallon

So would you rather pay 0.00855-0.00342 cents a gallon for water or $12.80?

Now to tackle the bottle itself. It actually takes at least twice as much water to make the bottle than to actually fill it. It takes 3 liters of water to make 1 liter of bottled water.  A lot of water can be saved by simply using a reusable water bottle. Also, plastic bottles are one of the main pollution sources and often end up in our oceans. 

Not enough bottles are being recycled; one statistics says 75% of bottles are thrown away. And in a time of oil dependency, there are 17 million barrels of oil that are used to produce water bottles every year.

So bottled water is pricey, not necessarily safer than tap, and the bottle can be a harmful pollutant to our environment. This is a huge industry that isn't going to change overnight but here are a few things you can do!
  • Buy a reusable water bottle. They hold large amounts of water and are easy to just grab and go.



  • If you must buy a bottle of water, some places don’t allow reusable water bottles, recycle the bottle. That will be one-less bottle that could end up in the ocean.



  • Tell your friends! You are the change, consumers control demand.
  • Go to www.tappedthemovie.com/ for more even information! I just watched this for the first time and it really got me inspired.


Next time you see a bottle of water at a store, take a step back and reconsider buying it. It could just be tap water or even worse, it could have harmful chemicals in it. Drink smarter!

            ~Lauren 
           WCO intern


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Yeah, I'm Cheap

Another April 15 has come and gone.  Did a warm feeling of satisfaction sweep over you as you wrote your check to the IRS?   Feel like you are getting your money’s worth?  How about when you pay other bills? Surely, there is one bill that makes you think, “Wow, I can’t believe how little I pay for how much I get in return!  Paying this bill makes me smile!”
 
A few weeks ago I asked you to think of three things you consider essential.  If you don’t have a top three, take a moment and mentally create a list.  What value do you place on these items?  Are they worth every penny you pay? 
One can assume we put a higher monetary value on what we consider most important in our lives.  If water was on your list of top three, as it should be, what price is fair to put on this commodity?  We need it for our basic survival - try going without for three days and see how you are feeling.  We also turn to water for putting out fires, cleaning, preventing the spread of disease, growing fruits and vegetables, manufacturing products, creating energy, flushing a toilet…  The beneficial uses of water are overflowing!
Now what is its worth?  What do you believe to be a fair price to pay for clean drinking water transported to your house to meet all of your daily needs?  I often hear water should be free.  After all, it is supplied by nature, available at any local river, and is replenished by rain.  No one put forth any effort to create it, so cost should be nonexistent, right?  Well, if you believe this, then please be my guest and walk to your nearest outdoor spring, river, creek, or puddle the next time you brush your teeth.
While your tap water isn't free, I suggest it is cheap. Utilities must balance the expenses  of treating and delivering quality water with what people can afford to pay for this vital service.  In 2007 Athens-Clarke County (ACC) implemented a tiered rate structure to encourage water conservation.  Looking at the current rates, you find one gallon of ACC tap water costs a customer $.004 in Tier 1. Go up to Tier 4 and the cost rises to just $.01 per gallon. Yes, one penny for one gallon of water in the highest tier rate. Compare this to other liquid products you may purchase by the gallon.  
The reality is this irreplaceable resource we rely on does come at a price.  Here are a few factors which contribute to determining the rates required to adequately treat and distribute water: 
  1. There is the cost for installing, maintaining, and repairing the infrastructure we rely on to deliver water to our homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals. 
  2. Utilities must be able to cover the rising expenses of electricity, chemicals and fuel used to supply and treat water. 
  3. Federally required security enhancements have been put into place following the 9/11 terror attacks, adding to expenditures. 
  4. Salaries must be paid to the workers who are on the clock 24/7 every day of the year to ensure water delivery does not fail.
Let’s  now compare three bills:  water, cell phone, and cable/Internet service.  In my earlier blog we found people listed smart phones and flat screen TVs as essential items.  What is your bill for your cell phone?  The Internet cable we all enjoy watching on our TVs?  I don’t know about you, but both my individual cell phone and cable bill are higher than my water charges.  And which of these three items is truly essential in my life? 
I can’t say looking at my water bill in this way will make me smile when I write my next check, but looking at the value and benefits I receive from this service does make me appreciate it more.  It is hard to believe I can get so much from something so cheap. 

  

       

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Water Resources Center


Stop 3. Water Resources Center



Our journey continues in search of buildings, businesses, and organizations that demonstrate water conservation methods in Athens-Clarke County.  The next stop is the Bob Snipes Water Resources Center (WRC) located off Barber Street (I'm sure you've seen it on your way to Terrapin :)  The WRC is a water and wastewater laboratory along with an educational facility.  It highlights 5 sustainable and water saving elements both within and around the building.  We will discuss each of these 5 elements over the next few blogs.

The first element is the actual building itself.  The WRC is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified.  What exactly is LEED, you ask??  Well, LEED is an international green building certification program that ensures the entire lifecycle of a building is environmentally friendly.  



The WRC gained LEED status by:
  • Installing WaterSense efficient plumbing fixtures to reduce water waste by 40%
  • Recycling 75% of construction debris
  • Designing the roof to minimize heat absorption and maximize energy efficiency
  • Planting drought-tolerant plants to reduce water used by irrigation
  • Including education in the design

WaterSense dual flush toilet meets EPA criteria



Construction of the Roof







Educational Displays in the Atrium






The benefits of the WRC as a LEED building include reduction in operating costs, reduction in construction waste sent to landfills, conservation of water and energy, providing healthier and safer environment for workers and visitors, and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.  The public is welcome to visit the WRC Monday through Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm.


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Water isn't Essential?


Think fast!  Name three things you can't live without.  Got it? 

Is a flat screen TV essential?
Now let's see how you compare to the rest of America.  In 2010, US News and World Report listed ten items Americans claimed to be essential in their lives.  Items included high-speed internet access, TV, coffee, and smart phones. Though the article did refer to food, shelter, and clothing as “obvious staples," water was nowhere mentioned. Not even once.  Water isn't essential in our lives? 
 
Tom Barlow, with Daily Finance, saw this list and he added his own selections in his blog.  He went so far as to at least include plumbing as a candidate for his Top 10.  Tom is a wise man. 
 
What about you?  Did water spring to your mind?  

Don't feel bad if it didn't make your big three.  Sure, we all know we need water to survive, thus making it essential.  But I think most people consider this as such an obvious answer, it doesn't need mentioning.   And water is always there for us, right?  We can stop at any Golden Pantry and find a cool drink or a toilet.  We don't write it down on our wish list next to the iPad.  I think most people take our water delivery and wastewater removal systems for granted. 

I could now move on to discuss how fortunate Americans are to have access to clean drinking water and good sanitation, how our list of essentials is actually a list of luxuries we enjoy, how 780 million people in the world lack access to clean water... But the point of this blog isn't to make you feel guilty. It is only to make you appreciate water and good sanitation. 



Here are three things you can try for the next month to become more aware of water in your life:

1) I know this is touchy-feely, but be mindful when you are using water. Tune out the flat screen TV, the high-speed internet, the ringing cell phone, and turn on your water. Listen to it as it runs from the faucet. Feel the water as it touches you. Enjoy washing the dishes, turning something dirty back to clean again. Appreciate and be grateful for the water you have available for use. 
       
2) As you select items for purchase at the store, take a moment to think about water's role in the manufacturing of products. What do I mean? Let's take the beloved cup of coffee. Sure, we need at least 8 oz of water to brew our go juice. But water is also required to grow, package, and ship the beans. What looks like 8oz of coffee really required an estimated 37 gallons of water for one cup. This virtual water is also in your blue jeans, your bread, and your brew. Be aware of your water footprint.

3) Go on strike with Matt Damon. He is not going to the bathroom until everyone has access to clean water and sanitation. Yes, this may be a little extreme for most of us to do, but it certainly does makes you aware of your toilet. If you can't commit as fully as Mr. Damon, how about not using the toilet seat for one month? Yes, I mean squat rather than sit. I guarantee, like Time Barlow, you will add plumbing and sanitation to your list of essentials.



A wonderful quote from Danielle Raine observes, “the cruel irony of housework: people only notice when you don’t do it.” Clean water delivered at the turn of a faucet or flush of a toilet is similar. You only notice water if it isn't there. Let's not wait until it isn't there to notice it. Become aware, appreciate, and take action to care for water now. It is essential.


Laurie Loftin
Conserve: WATER U waiting 4?