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Did
you know?
Reverse osmosis is the finest water filtration method known. This process will
allow the removal of particles as small as ions from a solution. It is used
to purify water and remove salts and other impurities in order to improve the
color, taste or properties of the fluid. R.O. uses a membrane that is semi-permeable,
allowing the fluid that is being purified to pass through it, while rejecting
other ions and contaminants from passing.
This technology uses a process
known as crossflow to allow the r.o. membrane to continually clean itself. This
is the reason of why an r.o. element can last many years before clogging or
need replacement. This
water purification process requires a driving force to push the fluid through
the membrane, and the most common force is household water pressure or pressure
from a booster pump. The higher the pressure, the larger the driving force and
efficiency.
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What
is Bay-scaping and how does it affect my water?
What
do you think of when you hear the word 'bayscaping?' Many people may first
think of landscaping, and they would not be wrong. The truth is bayscapes
are environmentally sound landscapes benefiting people, wildlife and water
conservation by advocating a "holistic" approach through principles inspired
by the relationships found in the natural world.
Why
is conserving water in landscapes important? The population in the world
watershed continues to grow by leaps and bounds. This will undoubtedly
put serious strains upon natural resources, including fresh water. In
some households as much as 40 percent of the water used each month finds
its way into the landscape, so future fresh water supplies depend upon
wise outdoor water use.
Water-wise
landscaping means many things. It means evaluating how much water the
lawn and landscape really need, learning how and when to apply water in
the landscape, understanding that plants thrive with well developed, deep
root systems, using plants with lower water requirements and minimizing
water waste in the garden. Water-wise landscaping, orxeriscaping, is one
of the BayScapes program principles. Keep in mind that excess, or wasted,
water runs off the land carrying nutrients, sediments and even traces
of toxic products into nearby creeks and streams. Protection of local
waterways feeding into bays, rivers, lake therefore, hinge upon reduced
surface water runoff. Each of us must make an individual effort to steward
our shared water resources.
How
can we reduce outdoor water use? You can reduce the amount of water used
to maintain your lawn and garden with little significant expense or serious
effort. For the most part, reducing water use means changing the way you
have watered in the past. Key elements include: timing, thoroughness,
proper equipment, mulching, plant selection and water zoning. Together,
they can cut your normal water use by as much as two-thirds during summer
months.
Timing
means watering plants and lawns only when they need it. Too often, lawns
are watered as an automatic reaction to hot temperatures. Instead, you
should water the lawn when it has shown you it is thirsty. A thirsty lawn
is easy to spot: when walked on, the grass will lie flat and reveal footprints.
Similarly, shrubs show you they need water by wilting. In both cases,
water during the coolest part of the day to avoid unnecessary evaporation.
Early morning or early evening hours are generally best. Thoroughness
means watering sufficiently. Water deeply and carefully, but not too often.
Thorough watering promotes stronger root systems, enabling plants to find
below-surface water during droughts or hot spells. Watering too lightly
or too often actually harms plants by encouraging shallow root systems.
Shallow roots make landscape plants more vulnerable to temperature extremes
and the damage caused by drought and disease. Proper equipment applies
water carefully and prudently, and you cannot expect to significantly
reduce water use without it.
For
example, standing with a water hose and a spray nozzle watering your lawn
is both time-consuming and ineffective, since the lawn is not getting
a deep soaking. If you follow timing guidelines, water sprinklers do an
excellent job of deep watering. Adjust the sprinkler position as each
area of the lawn has been thoroughly soaked. For shrubs and flower beds,
soaker hoses deliver deep watering over a few hours.
The
most efficient way to thoroughly water shrubs, flower beds, vegetable
gardens and container gardens, however, is with a drip irrigation system
hooked directly to your hose. Drip irrigation sends water straight to
a plant's roots with virtually no loss to evaporation. Mulching shrub
beds, flower beds and vegetable gardens results in dramatic water savings.
Most people use wood chips, shredded hardwood and softwood bark, grass
clippings, and tree leaves as mulch. A mulch cover 3 to 4 inches deep
will significantly reduce evaporation loss and prevent unwanted weeds
from sprouting in your garden. Remember not to pile mulch too high against
the base of a tree or shrub to avoid deterioration of the outer skin layer
that may damage or possibly kill it. Mulch can be purchased in 3-cubic-foot
bags, or in bulk by the pickup truck or dump truck load. Your local municipality
may even offer mulch on a pickup basis at no charge or a nominal fee.
Plant
selection plays an important role in reducing water use. Drought-tolerant,
or xeriphytic, plants available at nurseries and garden centers require
very little water to thrive in the Bay region. "Xeriscaping" is an emerging
landscape philosophy centered on water-wise landscaping. It has gained
tremendous acceptance in arid parts of the United States, such as the
desert southwest, Texas and California. The new focus on drought-tolerant
or low water-use plants have stimulated nurseries and garden centers in
the Bay region to expand their stock, and they now offer many species
to choose from today.
Water
zoning means laying out your landscape, lawn and garden areas in zones
according to water need. High water-use plants, such as colorful flower
beds of bulbs, perennials or annuals, are grouped very close to the house
and walkways to be enjoyed from both outside and inside the house. Group
medium water-use plants as well as lawn areas a bit farther out from the
house, and plant low water-use plants, such as natives on the perimeter
for screening and privacy. How can I provide water for wildlife? By practicing
water conservation techniques you will be able to allocate water for the
wildlife. Water is critical to watershed area inhabitants, since naturally
occurring sources are declining or seasonally stressed.
Direct
watering can be as simple as putting out a bird bath or a shallow pan
of water to provide a drink for thirsty birds, butterflies, and other
wildlife passing through your yard. For frogs, turtles, salamanders, fish
and other aquatic species, you may want to provide a small garden pool,
complete with nearby plantings of berry or nut-bearing varieties of trees
and shrubs. Provide water for shy animals near a brush pile or other safe
cover. No matter how you provide wildlife with water, you will be pleasantly
rewarded.
How
else can I use water wisely in my landscape? There are a number of additional
ways to conserve water through wise practices. These include controlling
runoff from your yard, replacing lawn areas with alternative landscapes,
providing mulch cover for bare spots in your yard, aerating your lawn,
and recycling water to your garden and yard. You can do many things to
reduce and control water running off your yard. When rainstorms hit, a
tremendous amount of water falls rapidly to the yard surface, where it
accumulates quickly and runs to lower ground. This runoff has the potential
to carry nutrients (especially nitrogen and phosphorus) from lawn fertilizers
and toxic substances from pesticides, which can cause problems for receiving
streams and, ultimately, the runoff can be reduced by planting a mulched
shrub bed or border at the low end of your yard to slow velocity.
Altering
the grade of your lawn can redirect fast moving runoff so it slows down
and possibly supplies water for other plants. Trapping runoff can result
in the creation of a miniature wetland in a small, inconspicuous part
of your yard, enabling you to add wet-soil plant varieties to your landscape.
Replacing areas currently in lawn grass will make a big difference in
your total landscape water requirements. Lawns require tremendous amounts
of water. Where appropriate (and where legally permitted), wildflower
meadows serve as colorful low-maintenance substitutes for lawns. On slopes
or in heavily shaded areas, ground covers provide an excellent alternative
requiring less water. Even converting a relatively small area to trees
and shrubs will significantly save water over the course of a growing
season.
Mulching
bare spots in the yard can reduce both runoff and the amount of sediment
that accompanies it in storm events. Bare spots generally occur where
foot traffic has worn grass thin, where quickly moving water has undermined
the root system and where the ground has recently been replanted. Consider
a mulch cover, however temporary, to remedy the problem. Lawn aeration
significantly affects how water infiltrates, or percolates into, the underlying
soil. A rented aerating machine operated much like a lawn mower will remove
small earth cores from the lawn, leaving thousands of tiny holes for surface
air and water to contact the root zone.
When
performed just prior to fertilizer application, aeration helps fertilizers
penetrate the soil surface. Recycling water may not be a conservation
solution that residents can pursue but, where appropriate, it makes a
significant difference in the amount of fresh tap water necessary to keep
lawns and landscape plants alive and well. Gray water is water that has
been used once but has not been contaminated to the point where it cannot
be used again. Gray water, such as recycled sink dishwashing water or
washing machine water (if filtered), can be piped through a 5/8 inch garden
hose directly to where it is needed or fed into a reservoir for later
use, perhaps after cooling. A little plumbing is required, but the savings
in water use makes the procedure readily justified!
Be
sure to first check local ordinances for permit requirements and written
approval. Where the use of gray water is prohibited, homeowners can recycle
rain water, especially that which runs off the roof into gutters and downspouts.
A container placed at the base of a downspout will provide fresh water
for your garden and outdoor plantings at no cost while reducing erosion
and runoff during heavy rains. Do not try to revamp all of your landscape
water use practices at once. Study how you currently use water and then
establish immediate and long term steps to conserve. You will be rewarded
with less maintenance, lower water bills and the knowledge that you are
helping wildlife as well as local streams, rivers and lakes.
Healthy and Convenient!
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