Peak Water - Downsizing Our Water Footprint

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Peak Water - Downsizing Our Water Footprint
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Downsizer Forum Index -> Conservation and Environment

If it's brown ...

Pull the flush

66%

[ 12 ]

Chuck a bit of old bathwater down

16%

[ 3 ]

Run to Mum screaming "what's Dad / brother done in there?

[ 0 ]

No worries, I've a compost toilet

16%

[ 3 ]

Total Votes : 18

Author

Message

nats

Joined: 12 Jun 2007
Posts: 2374
Location: Swindon but not a Swindonian

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 7:57 am Post subject:
We live in a suburban semi. Can't install compost loo's here! And don't have enough garden to use the results any way. I'd love a grey water/rain water system but it's not economical to re-plumb the whole house. Maybe next house???

Behemoth

Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 8:01 am Post subject:

Dumnonian wrote:

On the broader issue of overall water footprint, did anyone take a look at theirs?

Mine's rather large. ;-D

Dumnonian

Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Posts: 67
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 8:06 am Post subject:

nats wrote:

We live in a suburban semi. Can't install compost loo's here! And don't have enough garden to use the results any way. I'd love a grey water/rain water system but it's not economical to re-plumb the whole house. Maybe next house???

Hi Nats, yeah we live in a very conventional house too, so we take the very low-tech, very affordable way through, and use our old bathwater to flush the loo (see poll) - saves a fortune, in water AND money!

More proof that It Is Cheaper To Be Green

marigold

Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 12458
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 8:20 am Post subject:

Dumnonian wrote:

I must admit to being quite shocked that 6 people will just flush.

The options are a bit limited. I flush when necessary, but not every visit. I bath about three times a fortnight, so using bathwater for the loo wouldn't be viable, but it does reduce my water consumption. I live in rented accommodation and have little money, so any options which involve me spending money aren't viable either.

Bucket and chuck it would be OK for a short term emergency here, but gardens are too small for that to be a long term solution.

I don't have kids though, so that's saved the planet a heck of a lot of water

Dumnonian

Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Posts: 67
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 8:30 am Post subject:

marigold wrote:

I don't have kids though, so that's saved the planet a heck of a lot of water

And the rest ...

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 8:45 am Post subject:

Behemoth wrote:

Treacodactyl wrote:

I tend to look at it from a differ angle. Humanmanure is a too valuable resource to flush away so I'd like to get a composting toilet.

You are quite right in the next decade pretty much most sewage sludge will be composted and recycled or used to generate electricity. Zero 'waste'.

Or powering your car with biogas

Mrs R

Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 7202

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 8:53 am Post subject:

my water consumption must be bloomin' good, been as I only shower twice a week and mostly wash by hand. We've only recently got a flushing toilet. I'm looking forward to getting a twintub washing machine as a sort of halfway house - cuts water consumption but should be really labour-saving and time-saving for me as llife gets busier....

IME compost toilets are easy - in my mum's log cabin there is simply a toilet seat on a purpose built 'box', with a plastic bin below and and 'divider' under the seat - so you pee down the front bit and it goes down a pipe and into a reedbed, and poop down the back, cover with sawdust/shavings (no smell surprisingly, and it is indoors) and empty into a normal compost bin every so often. As long as it's dry (no accidental peeing in the poop bit) it's fine.

I'd have one here as I hate to waste it, but I'd need some kind of structure to put it in and can't afford anything atm.

bladerunner

Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 3

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 9:00 am Post subject: Water calculator for iPhone
Yes indeed, this is too toilet-centric IMO most our water consumtption lies in crop and livestock products. Personnaly, I am trying to reduce my consumption of beef and to lessen the quantity of new industrial product I buy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check this water footprint calculator for iPhone. Free download on the App store

Dumnonian

Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Posts: 67
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 9:03 am Post subject: Re: Water calculator for iPhone

bladerunner wrote:

Yes indeed, this is too toilet-centric IMO

most our water consumtption lies in crop and livestock products.
Personnaly, I am trying to reduce my consumption of beef and to lessen the quantity of new industrial product I buy.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check this water footprint calculator for iPhone.
Free download on the App store

Hi Bladerunner - cool 1st post

Mrs R

Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 7202

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 9:08 am Post subject:
Why lessen consumption of beef? The only water our cows use is what they drink, and they pee the majority of it onto the pasture so it's not wasted.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9891
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 9:19 am Post subject:

Dances With Cows wrote:

Why lessen consumption of beef? The only water our cows use is what they drink, and they pee the majority of it onto the pasture so it's not wasted.

yes - where i get my beef from, the cows have access to spring water, and as you say they pee most of it anyways.

our homegrown lamb is free from treated water too.

milk production, as it's standardly done, must be a pretty bad user of water? if by cutting out beef you eat more dairy.. that might be worse, imho

Mrs R

Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 7202

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 9:30 am Post subject:
dairy is absolutely hellish on water use yes - unbelievable amounts of water used purely in the parlour, and of course all mingled with slurry, antibiotics, iodine and acid too Let alone for the cattle to drink and the maize/etc. to be grown. Beef, even grainfed beef, must be saintly in comparison!

bladerunner

Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 3

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 10:18 am Post subject:
It is not the water cows are drinking but what they eat ! Cow-feed is a water-intensive culture A 200 kg is suppose to virtually eat 3 000 000 liters in his short Life. A kg of beef has an average water footprint of 15000 liters. The water footprint network has nice ppt on this. �� �Free water footprint calculator for iPhone with Water Aflamed application

Mrs R

Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 7202

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 10:29 am Post subject:

bladerunner wrote:

It is not the water cows are drinking but what they eat !

Cow-feed is a water-intensive culture
A 200 kg is suppose to virtually eat 3 000 000 liters in his short Life.
A kg of beef has an average water footprint of 15000 liters.

The water footprint network has nice ppt on this.

��
�Free water footprint calculator for iPhone with Water Aflamed application

Not all cows eat grain/maize though - ours only eat the grass that grows under their feet on this farm, and that's grown only with the sun and what water falls from the sky or comes back out the cows..... but also, the figures popularly given about grainfeeding assume that all the water that goes into the grain stays there, goes into the cow, and vanishes!

Behemoth

Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 11 10:33 am Post subject:
The issue is that the feed is often grown in water stressed areas, not the actual amount of water.

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