Drought - now this is pretty scary

I just got a call and the caller ID said East Bay Munici. I knew that this was EBMUD (East Bay Municipal Utilities District), our water provider. It was a taped call that reminded us that we are under drought conditions and to cut back on watering plants. Actually, it said that plants don't need extra water when it is this hot and they will recover.

I am letting my little lawn die. It came with the house. Personally, I have always wanted to replace it with something more drought tolerant. Maybe this year I can. Or next year.

I have to get DH to cut down on the time he spends in the shower. Our daughter and I take quick showers. We are out of there in 5 minutes. He spends 15. Role reversal, I think.

Anyway, the worst part is that if we do not have enough rain next year, there will be more cutbacks and more price increases next year.

We have lived here through a 7-year drought cycle when our daughter was born. Nothing in those drought years were anything like this.

Always fires, though. They are to be expected.

Buying a new low-flow toilet for one of the bathrooms this weekend.

From what I see in the news, California is burning up!!! Hang in there, Rosemary!

Have you looked to the west there? Noticed some water out there? Time to get busy on desalination!

We are under a watering thing here in my city. I let the lawn die, and a couple of the tenants had a fit, I told them they could have a lawn if they would shower every other day, washed dishes in 3 inches of water and rinsed them in 3 inches also. And went to the laundrymat instead of using the laundry here at the apt. They looked at me like I had lost my mind. Our water bill per month is about $1,000.00 per month, that's for 8 familys, 24 people in this building. Forget water on the lawn.
K.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Have you looked to the west there? Noticed some water out there? Time to get busy on desalination!

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You got the desalination stuff correct, but this is CA. I am sure that some group can find something environmentally incorrect about it.

Maybe when the water rates are greater than the gas rates.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Have you looked to the west there? Noticed some water out there? Time to get busy on desalination!

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God I wish they would desal here. My hubby did that on ship in the navy. But NOOOooooooooo, that makes too much freaking sence.
K.
Sorry touchy subject.

Originally Posted by wingss2fly

We are under a watering thing here in my city. I let the lawn die, and a couple of the tenants had a fit, I told them they could have a lawn if they would shower every other day, washed dishes in 3 inches of water and rinsed them in 3 inches also. And went to the laundrymat instead of using the laundry here at the apt. They looked at me like I had lost my mind. Our water bill per month is about $1,000.00 per month, that's for 8 familys, 24 people in this building. Forget water on the lawn.
K.

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Yeah, what lawn and who cares?

L.A. is probably the only place on earth where the leaders can say, "We're short on water!," turn their backs on the Pacific, and say, "You know, we can build a pipeline to Lake Michigan and get plenty of water there!"

You can only Water on certain days here and times.

Living in a Great Lakes state-a pipeline to the west is never going to happen.

We had a mild drought this time last summer. Living with a well helps tremendously but the lawn never watered to begin with and its the it always recovers. The plant material I would be concerned about are trees.

You can place a couple of bricks a fill a liter soda bottle with water to displace some of the water in the toilet tank. While waiting for water to warm up in the shower if you have a bath/showe combo-fill the bathtub and use that for watering. Wash dishes in the sink in a container and dump that water on plants. Lots of ways to conserve water.

Yeah, I got plenty of those calls today. Between all the properties and my own house, I've practically memorized that message.

It is scary, especially with the fires. I remember growing up here, we had that drought. I kept seeing commercials for that "slip and slide" water toy, and was always sad I couldn't use it!

We made it through before, if we all pitch in I hope we will again!

SC here. I am in the upstate and we are in extreme drought "mode" which is the most severe on the drought scale. We haven't had any restrictions yet but some of the nearby cities have. I am more than happy to conserve and I try to anyway. Except DBF does a load in the dishwasher every day! Although, him moving in with me has helped us cut the water that we both use anyway. I don't take long showers. And you know what they say about toilets... if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down. We haven't felt it's that drastic yet.

I am wondering too, why can't we use the ocean water, the glaciers, etc.?

Oh my goodness that sounds awful!

We were within one week of going to level 4 rationing last summer. That's absolutely no outside watering - including new lawns, flowers, or car washes. But we had 3 years of level three restrictions before that.

Sorry you guys are having such a tough time with water. I have well water where I live so I never get told to cut back. That still doesn't mean I like to waste water. (I'd just have to have a new well drilled) I usually water my lawn in the summer but I haven't this year. If the grass is dry it won't grow, then I won't have to mow it.