I guess you could call me a curious guy - some might say a pain in the derriere - but either way, questions pop into my head, often from something I've read or heard. Or maybe it was what I ate the night before.
My latest rumination deals with our water supply. Every winter - like the one just past, when our snows are below normal - the headlines are full of words like drought, water conservation and rationing, and local politicians step to the fore awash in leadership, just as they did this last spring.
Fortunately, we got some late snow in the mountains and lots of rain that diminished the threat, and we've gone back to sleep.
We are fortunate to live in a part of the world where at every turn we see water, whether in the Sound, the many rivers that bisect our state or the snow pack and glaciers in the mountains. But is that enough?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Washington State Office of Financial Management, the population of the Puget Sound region has grown from 1,513,000 in 1960 to 3,387,500 in 2003, more than double in about 40 years. If that trend continues, the population could be 7,584,000 in the next 40 years. That's a lot of people.
Since 1990, the Seattle population has grown 9 percent to slightly more than 572,000 people, with projections suggesting something close to 600,000 by 2010. And I'd say those are conservative estimates.
The bottom line is that we will be placing increased demands on a sometimes-iffy water supply.
Here are some examples of how we use our water
- An average residence uses 107,000 gallons of water per year.
- The average toilet uses 5 to 7 gallons of water per flush.
- A shower can use 25 to 50 gallons (5 gallons per minute).
- Just washing your hands can use up to 3 gallons of water (with tap running at 3 gallons per minute).
- Leaving the water running while you brush your teeth can waste 3 gallons of water (at 3 gallons per minute).
- Automatic dishwashers use about 15 gallons per load.
- Washing one load of clothes in an automatic washer uses about 45 gallons.
- It takes 1,500 gallons of water to process 1 barrel of beer.
- It takes 39,000 gallons of water to manufacture a new car, including tires.
- About 340 billion gallons of water are used every day in the United States. This total includes water used in irrigation, in industry, and in fire fighting and street cleaning.
- A human can live more than a month without food but only as much as one week without water.
I'm not suggesting that we stop flushing toilets, washing our hands or drinking beer, but conservation has to be part of the overall solution. However, that alone won't be enough.
I spent some time searching the Internet for what our local, county and state governmental agencies are doing to meet the coming demand for water. I found the typical bureaucratic mission statements full of lofty ideas, and I found plans for water reclamation and treatment, but generally I found little that indicated we had a plan to supply water to the coming millions of people.
I have no doubt that in a few small cubicles under the glare of fluorescent lights there are some diligent government employees charged with looking at these issues. I worry that this problem, one that could have profound impact on the quality of our lives and the economy of the state, just isn't critical enough or sexy enough for our leaders to put it at the top of their priorities.
When we do come up short, and the solution is an all-out effort to create new water resources, guess who's going to foot the bill?[[In-content Ad]]
