2/15/2008 10:50:52 AM

i'm glad we are out of the drought since it rained the other day.

2/15/2008 10:54:02 AM

NC is pretty much the worst in the country

2/15/2008 1:55:43 PM

Apparently Durham's demand went from 24.39 million gallons a day last year at this time to 21.97 million now. I thought conservation efforts were going better than that.

2/15/2008 2:09:27 PM

That's almost 15%, and I guarantee there are more people in Durham now than last year.

2/15/2008 2:42:34 PM

I've been hearing reduction numbers in the 30 to 40-something percent range. But I guess that's from the previous months and shouldn't be compared with last year. I didn't think about the population increase.

2/15/2008 2:48:06 PM

i called public utilities of raleigh the other day to make sure they were reading the meter correctly because they say i use 68 gallons per day. i don't believe it. i run the dishwasher once a week, if that. i do maybe 1 load of laundry per week, i'm not here a lot on weekends, my showers aren't that long. i don't have any leaks. i actually went out to the water meter to check the leak indicator and it was not moving at all.

the guy on the phone said that 68 gallons per day was still "very good" usage (this is for one person). he said eventually the mayor wants us to get down to 35 gallons per day. i asked him how i was supposed to cut my usage by half and he said that they would send out "water saving techniques" in upcoming bills.

i also wrote an email to the "water conservation expert" at public utilities over a week ago asking how i could find out if my house (built in 1995) has water friendly devices or not. he has yet to reply.

the next time it rains hard and its above 50 degrees outside i'm washing my car. take that, drought!

2/15/2008 3:07:51 PM

Average consumption per person is about 70 gallons per day. Between the shower, toilet, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, rinsing plates, drinking, cooking and all that, I'm sure you use more than you realize.

Though a lot of the water conservation tips they suggest are completely useless. One I read was, "If you drop an ice cube, use it to give your plants a cool drink of water instead of throwing it down the sink." Yeah, that's going to save a ton ...

2/15/2008 3:13:39 PM

my girlfriend and i combined use 33 gallons per day. TAKE THAT!

2/15/2008 3:18:54 PM

^^ yeah, plus i work from home so i flush the toilet a lot more often than people who aren't here all day. i should get a "toilet credit" though because i'm not flushing it at work so it evens out. maybe i will start pissing in my back yard.

2/15/2008 3:50:25 PM

If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down.

2/15/2008 3:54:13 PM

Possibly stupid question: Where exactly do you see how much water you use? I asked my bf about it, but he can't find it on his statement or anything.

2/15/2008 3:58:57 PM

Dang, they showed it on my bill. But that doesn't take into account the water I use outside my house (like at work, restaurants, etc.).

2/15/2008 4:10:53 PM

^^ on my last bill there is a box on the top right that says IMPORTANT MESSAGES and the first line says Your Average Water usage is xx Gallons per day.

if your bill does not have that, you can also look at the "Consumption" value, measured in CCFs. 1 CCF = 748 gallons. this value is per month, so do the math and you'll get your usage per day.

[Edited on February 15, 2008 at 4:42 PM. Reason : .]

2/15/2008 4:40:19 PM

He doesn't get paper bills, though. Anyone know if there's a place to check it online? I am sure it's there somewhere, but he said he didn't see it. I'll take a look when I get home, I guess.

2/15/2008 4:42:05 PM

what city does your bf live in?

2/15/2008 11:14:45 PM

Durham

2/16/2008 12:02:19 AM

yesterday i washed 4 loads of clothes, took 2 showers, and a load of dishes in the dishwasher

take that, drought

2/16/2008 11:33:38 AM

why did i laugh at that^

2/16/2008 11:40:44 AM

and i'm pretty sure the shower i took yesterday morning lasted at least 30mins because i had an awesome hangover from the night before

for most morning showers, i sit down in the bath tub and let the water run over me for about 10 mins to wake myself up


just doing my part to get us through these harsh times

2/16/2008 12:17:17 PM

yeah

2/16/2008 1:54:42 PM

Army Corps is cutting flow from Falls Lake dam.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2454832/

2/19/2008 1:43:05 PM

^ well it should help. anyone know of a good waterfall to bathe in?

2/19/2008 3:00:07 PM

I run my dishwasher one dish at a time.

I don't want any of the other dishes to get dirty.

2/19/2008 3:04:03 PM

I'm not showering until the Canes make the playoffs.

2/19/2008 11:22:52 PM

post results

2/20/2008 12:33:24 AM

Day 25: I haven't showered since the All-Star break. I am now called "Pig Pen" by co-workers, family, and Charlie Brown enthusiasts alike. I can't be sure, but I think stink lines follow me wherever I go. It's all worth it, however. I've never saved so much money and helped the environment. I'm also better than ever at Halo and computer programming.

I've got to go now. The garbage is really starting to stink.

2/20/2008 1:23:36 AM

dang, we skipped stage 3 and moved straight to stage 4 restrictions

2/20/2008 8:52:41 AM

Quote :

"the next time it rains hard and its above 50 degrees outside i'm washing my car. take that, drought!"

I did this last week when we had significant rain. It worked pretty well

2/20/2008 12:29:22 PM

anyone buy a rain barrel?

Trying to decide whether to get one or not so that i can water plants, flowers and younger trees.

2/20/2008 1:34:39 PM

Last summer.

It's very nice to have. zorthage has 3; one in the front yard, and two in back. The one in front isn't elevated - I just hook it up to the irrigation system we laid in the flower bed before planting it, and let it run, or else I ran a soaker hose to the bushes that are in front of the house (the rain barrel is roughly in the middle of the front of the house, in the corner by the porch. Flower bed in front of the porch, and bushes in front of the brick part of the house)

For the backyard, the barrels are on a ~2.3'/3' table, because we intended to use them to water
- grape vines halfway back on one side of the yard (with a short soaker hose buried under mulch in the bed - hooked the hose into that)
- a potted garden on the other side of the yard
- a garden plot (very near to the barrels)

Even though we've broken up, we may still garden together, because
1) I'm more experienced at it than he is
2) I am gonna miss it, living in an apartment
3) it's something to do together.

To that end, because the vegetable patch is on a slight slope, I may take a clue from my grandfather, and dig a length trench running back and forth the width of the garden. I'd be able to just lay the hose in the upper corner, and gravity would move water through the trench to the whole garden.

2/20/2008 1:49:39 PM

We have 2 rain barrels, both 55 gallons. Even if it only rains like a 1/4 of an inch, our barrels fill up completely, because they are hooked up to our gutters. Apparently, 1 inch of rainfall on a 1,000 square foot roof can harness 600 gallons of water.

My husband and I bought ours from a guy who makes them on ebay. If you want to make your own, here is a brochure about it http://www.cwp.org/Community_Watersheds/brochure.pdf

I definitely recommend them. I mean, it's free water.

[Edited on February 20, 2008 at 3:07 PM. Reason : I can't type]

2/20/2008 3:06:30 PM

Hey I don't really want to read six pages so: I drained my hot tub the other day to clean it and completely forgot about the water restrictions. Can I legally refill it and what are my chances of getting caught, fined, etc. if it is illegal? I live in Wake County...Hot tub is maybe 350 gallons...

2/20/2008 4:56:28 PM

No, you can't. Don't be "that guy"

2/20/2008 5:01:08 PM

even if you don't get caught (and you probably won't), please have the moral integrity to NOT fill up your fucking hot tub

2/20/2008 5:06:47 PM

yall dont phase me

2/20/2008 5:09:31 PM

how big is your hot tub, ~1000 gal? I don't know what the rule is for private hot tubs, but thats really not that much water for a one time usage. In normal hot tub operation you need to routinely drain and clean as needed to remove any biofilm from the sides and to reduce the total dissolved solids. To get the most usage out of your hot tub you need to make sure that you really pay attention to your water and make sure it is perfectly balanced and use a cover to reduce evaporation. If you have any questions about water chemistry or possible changes you could make to your pump/filter system to save water just send me a pm.

2/20/2008 7:10:48 PM

^

Quote :

"Hot tub is maybe 350 gallons..."

Quote :

"I live in Wake County"

if you have your own well you can do what the fuck you want to.

2/20/2008 7:41:00 PM

i don't have a well. so tdub can i fill up my hot tub?

2/21/2008 9:29:34 AM

Was my first answer not good enough?

2/21/2008 9:30:40 AM

^^You can, but it's very illegal.

2/21/2008 9:46:56 AM

yeah, we are in stage 4 fucking conservation efforts and you want to fill up a hot tube

2/21/2008 9:52:49 AM

he wants to fill you up with his hot tube

2/21/2008 9:55:52 AM

I thought we were only in Stage 2?

2/21/2008 10:02:37 AM

^ Even when we were in stage 2:

Quote :

"Water levels in swimming or wading pools may be supplemented only to the amount necessary to allow proper operation and sanitary pool conditions. Filling new pools or those drained for repair after Feb. 15 is prohibited."

2/21/2008 10:03:54 AM

Quote :

"I thought we were only in Stage 2"

current events anyone

2/21/2008 10:22:11 AM

I just checked the site and it says Stage 2...

And putting Stage 4 Raleigh into Yahoo leads me to the site that says Stage 2.

I've also been living in Cary, so the city's water problems haven't mattered to me.

2/21/2008 10:33:47 AM

I wasn't able to find anything about Raleigh being stage 4 either, but Durham has been at 4 since December, so I believed gunzz when he said it.

2/21/2008 10:35:01 AM

okeydokey

2/21/2008 10:37:02 AM

Quote :

"hunitncsu New Recruit 11 Posts user info edit post i don't have a well. so tdub can i fill up my hot tub? "

yes, but only w/ bottled water

2/21/2008 11:07:43 AM