In case you haven’t heard, Texas is in a drought, and it’s a
pretty bad one. Droughts in themselves
are nothing new to Texas, but there are some experts who believe that we are
headed into a very long drought period, possibly hundreds of years. This could lead to desertification, where
Texas is made even more desert like than it already is. Keeping all this in mind, it is essential
that we put in place water use guidelines that will help us face this challenge
together as a community. Currently, Lake
Travis and Buchanan are reaching record lows and these lakes supply Austin and
surrounding areas with drinking water.
In order to assure this precious resource is conserved the City of
Austin has put in place water restrictions to keep people from wasting water.
If you’ve ever had the chance to drive around some of the
more affluent neighborhoods in Austin, you’ll notice how amazing a lot of their
yards look. You can safely assume that
they are pushing their watering privileges to the max. But for a lot of these home owners that just
isn’t enough. They want their lush
vegetation, vibrant green lawns, pools, and whatever else they think will help
them keep up with the Joneses.
To get around the water restrictions there has been a recent
surge in homes having wells installed on their property for the sole purpose of
having the freedom to water whenever they desire. The City can’t stop them or even keep track
of them, since the permit required to install a well is a state permit. These wells can cost upwards of $30,000
dollars and are tapping into the Barton Creek watershed north of the river. The watershed south of the river is protected
from drilling, requiring a permit. In my
opinion this needs to happen north of the river, as well.
Water is becoming a very important and seemingly scarce
natural resource that we need to do our best to preserve. With the population of Texas growing so fast,
water is going to become even scarcer. It’s time people accept the fact that we
are living in a climate that is trending towards dry, desert like patterns and
we can’t be wasting water. In order to
do this the first thing that will need to happen is for the local government to
take control of people who think they can dump thousands of gallons of water
onto their lawns.
I couldn’t agree more with Matthew Young’s blog on water usage in Texas. The title sums it up perfectly – Doing What it Takes to Pretend You’re Not in Texas. Having spent many months in foreign countries where water is a luxury most cannot afford, it really angers me when I come back stateside and see lush green lawns and gardens that my neighbors are sneaking out at night to water. Young mentions driving around affluent neighborhoods as an example. Here we see a sea of green admist the brown, desert like conditions of the state. We see manifested the vanity of those that put appearances before the greater good.
ReplyDeleteShould local government step in and implement strict regulations regarding well placement and water usage as Young suggests? I believe so. Young points out that Texans are not willing to sacrifice their pools and gardens, and are willing instead, to leach water from watersheds in order to continue the life style they are accustomed to regardless of the season. We do live in an area suffering from drought and it’s about time someone did something to get all Texans to see this and to do their part. With all the complaining that people do about how many laws we have, I’d like to see them take a minute to realize that a lot of laws are made because people will not chose to do ‘the right thing’ on their own, without government interference, and excessive water usage is a perfect example of this.
Young does a great job summarizing the attitudes of a lot of Texans and brings home the point that government needs to get involved.
In Matthew Young’s blog post, “Doing What it Takes to Pretend You’re Not in Texas,” Young brings light to the current drought in Texas that is worsening over time, and people are the main problem. His take on water conservation has reminded me of the vast majority of people who actually are not aware of how they are wasting water and even more importantly, how they can save water.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that water restrictions alone are enough to conserve a sufficient amount of water for the upcoming years, however, but that the citizens of this state must also be willing to comply and do more conserving on their own part.
Certain methods of saving water at home include: keeping the shower time to five minutes or under – which could save up to 1,000 gallons per month, watering the lawns once every three days in the summer and once every five days in the winter, inspecting the landscape irrigation system regularly for leaks or broken sprinkler heads, teaching children to turn off the faucet after each use, and many more simple methods inside and outside of the house. There are numerous resources available for informing the public about preservation methods as well.
The epitome of water conservation is to use our water wisely and care for it properly, and it is crucial so for the future generations to be ensured of a sufficient amount of clean water and reduced use of electricity for waste water services. With a finite resource of water available – seven percent of the whole Earth’s saltwater is not available for drinking, and only one percent is available for drinking water – people, wildlife, and nature are at risk of endangerment, as water is essential for food and sustaining life. Not only that, water helps us in our daily activities, such as cooking and cleaning.
I appreciate Young’s post because this topic should be brought up for the public’s attention; the water drought is having a more prevailing effect on our lives and should not be stored in the back of our minds with lesser priority. I agree with Young that water is only becoming more of a scarce resource, increasing its importance in our lives that we need to do our best to preserve. Not only should we conserve water, but we should protect it from pollution and waste, for the importance of nourishing all life dependent of water.
People cannot continue to disregard this upcoming disaster, and many are oblivious of even the impact that the minute changes in their water usage can have on water conservation. If we encourage more citizens to follow these procedures, a whole lot of people doing them will add up in the long-run, but it takes the first step of changing our lifestyle. Each of us depends on water for life, so the responsibility of conserving water should not rest only on the government, but should be a job for the everyday person.