There have been some interesting estimates on the amount of water that gets locked up in various places. For example, in the US, 50 billion bottles of water are sold every year and their recycling system is terrible so a massive amount of those end up in landfill. If only a tiny bit of water is left trapped in the bottle then at that scale they think that 22 million gallons of water heads to landfill each year. I imagine the bottles get crushed and broken though so a lot might escape but that's just water bottles and the same must happen for all kinds of drinks. Now scale up to the whole world for the last two or three decades of plastic bottle use...
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I'm old enough to remember doing the washing (in my twin tub) on a Monday. We didn't smell; it's actually not compulsory to change your underwear every day, even now...
When I was at school we had clean clothes twice a week. Spots of food etc were sponged off garments, and everything was aired before you wore it again. A clothes brush was useful - and often used. Yes, we only had a bath once a week, but an all-over wash every day.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
There have been some interesting estimates on the amount of water that
gets locked up in various places.
Yes. There are some enormous underground lakes and rivers too,where I imagine water drains to. The Hamaza River flows under Brazil and Peru, approximately 6,000 kilometres long at a depth of nearly 4 kilometres. Imagine a river 4 km under the ground!
There must be a lot of water tied up in furniture, paper and indeed bodies.
It's a real pity our government couldn't give as much thought to the creation of new linked reservoirs instead of vanity projects like HS2 & Crossrail. We obviously get the rainfall at certain times of the year but don't seem to capture much of it when there's an excess like there was a few winters back when many areas of the country flooded.
There was obviously an era when big reservoirs were built (Kielder, Carsington, Rutland etc.) but I don't see much discussion nowadays about creating new ones. Imagine the planning that must have gone into increasing the size of Thirlmere in the Lake District and laying pipes all the way to Manchester!
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
It would be handy to have a well in your garden now. I’ve had to use the hose the last two weeks but I have held off for a long time. I’ve only watering the pots. This year there won’t be squash or beans for me because there just isn’t the water for it, the plants are tiny still. I’m going to continue using the hose rather than the watering cans though, just a quicker job.
@VictorMeldrew It is Thames Water that wants to build a water reservoir near Abingdon, but the locals objected. Not sure if they still object after this summer.
I have a bucket in the kitchen sink and I collect all excess water (washing salad or coffee ground) over the day, which is around 3l. Washing up happens once a day in the kitchen sink and is around 7l. The two of us have a shower once a week for 2 minutes, and the first excess water goes into the bucket (around 2.5l). The daily washing in the bath sink takes around 2l. A loo flush is 3l, but can't be shorten. The excess water including ground coffee goes to a shrub/tree that needs water. Until now, I have given my garden a 30 min shower once a week, on Sundays. Our neighbour has daily a shower for 10 minutes which is 70 min a week. All in all, we use less water in one week for everything than our neighbour just by using the shower. And here is the but, the lilac tree needs a 5 min watering twice week because it's bone dry there due to neighbour's conifer roots. That will stop as soon as it is established next year or the year after.
Similar here Simone, very frugal with water, never waste a drop, we won’t get anymore, our water rate is never more than £28.00 per quarter. That’s private drainage, we have to pay for the pit to be emptied, but as I use no bleach or anything else that kills ‘all know germs’) it doesn’t need emptying very often.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
We have a well and, when we bought the house, had to sign a deed promising to share the water withneighbours in time of need, despite the fact that it has been dry for decades. We shall have to start saving the water we run before the tap gets hot in the kitchen and pantry if this drought continues.
I do agree that hose pipes can be very perverse and find excuses to twist and get stuck but apart from that they are, like anythings, a good thing if used well.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Posts
It was when I was living in Hants, so over 10 years ago. Sorry , no link, but I remember being shocked by it
When I was at school we had clean clothes twice a week. Spots of food etc were sponged off garments, and everything was aired before you wore it again. A clothes brush was useful - and often used. Yes, we only had a bath once a week, but an all-over wash every day.
There was obviously an era when big reservoirs were built (Kielder, Carsington, Rutland etc.) but I don't see much discussion nowadays about creating new ones. Imagine the planning that must have gone into increasing the size of Thirlmere in the Lake District and laying pipes all the way to Manchester!
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
I have a bucket in the kitchen sink and I collect all excess water (washing salad or coffee ground) over the day, which is around 3l. Washing up happens once a day in the kitchen sink and is around 7l. The two of us have a shower once a week for 2 minutes, and the first excess water goes into the bucket (around 2.5l). The daily washing in the bath sink takes around 2l. A loo flush is 3l, but can't be shorten.
The excess water including ground coffee goes to a shrub/tree that needs water.
Until now, I have given my garden a 30 min shower once a week, on Sundays.
Our neighbour has daily a shower for 10 minutes which is 70 min a week.
All in all, we use less water in one week for everything than our neighbour just by using the shower.
And here is the but, the lilac tree needs a 5 min watering twice week because it's bone dry there due to neighbour's conifer roots. That will stop as soon as it is established next year or the year after.
I ♥ my garden.
I do agree that hose pipes can be very perverse and find excuses to twist and get stuck but apart from that they are, like anythings, a good thing if used well.