Colorado and the West is running out of water . . . (Denver: mortgages, golf)

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by highplainsrus

Exactly. It is a lifestyle change - easier for an old geezer than a normal modern family who might not have ever done primitive camping. It is common among small towns in drought, when they are down to the last few inches of creeks, reservoirs, and wells. They have to pay for trucks to bring water to them. It was common during the 50's drought, thanks to our grandparents who survived the Depression and the Dust Bowl. It definitely makes one appreciate one's watershed. I'm looking forward to learning every inch of my new adopted watershed when I get there.

Ya its not very practical. I live alone and during the off season don't really use much water. The off season is about 8 months, September to April. I was looking at my bill for December and I used 1,866 gallons or a average of 60 gallons a day. My bill came to 38 dollars. Honesty there is no way to cut back as I work out every morning on the elliptical runner for 90 minutes so a 30 second shower, or no shower, would not work. Combined with all the other necessities, such as cooking, cleaning, and drinking, this is about as low as I can go. Although to be honest I was surprised how low it really was as I thought it would have been over 100 gallons a day. Now peak season use is a different story.

[ArthurManby]

Just talked to a primary grower out on the mesa (Pueblo/Blende/Vineland) couple of days ago. He draws from the Bessemer ditch (Arkansas River basin). Say's he's been allocated enough water this year to farm only about 35% of croplands. It's going to be a tough year for the eastern plains...

[highplainsrus]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

Ya its not very practical. I live alone and during the off season don't really use much water. The off season is about 8 months, September to April. I was looking at my bill for December and I used 1,866 gallons or a average of 60 gallons a day. My bill came to 38 dollars. Honesty there is no way to cut back as I work out every morning on the elliptical runner for 90 minutes so a 30 second shower, or no shower, would not work. Combined with all the other necessities, such as cooking, cleaning, and drinking, this is about as low as I can go. Although to be honest I was surprised how low it really was as I thought it would have been over 100 gallons a day. Now peak season use is a different story.

Well, at least you're thinking about it. That's more than most people do. I bet you could do better with enough motivation. I wonder how much that extra 866 gallons would have to cost to bring out that creativity? $100? $200?

There might be a future in being a "water coach" - like a "life coach" or a debt counselor.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

You use a waterless toilet, a 30-second shower (and don't bathe every day), don't run the sink while brushing your teeth, etc.

It's not that hard, though it is austere.

It's like when you have to take a shower with no hot water. You turn on the shower for 30 seconds to get yourself wet and then turn it off, lather up with shampoo and soap, turn on water again to rinse off. It takes about 90 seconds total, but it feels like 5 minutes when you are rinsing off with cold water.

BTW. On the Navajo Reservation, where most people do not have running water, the average resident uses about 15 gallons a day.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

Ya its not very practical. I live alone and during the off season don't really use much water. The off season is about 8 months, September to April. I was looking at my bill for December and I used 1,866 gallons or a average of 60 gallons a day. My bill came to 38 dollars. Honesty there is no way to cut back as I work out every morning on the elliptical runner for 90 minutes so a 30 second shower, or no shower, would not work. Combined with all the other necessities, such as cooking, cleaning, and drinking, this is about as low as I can go. Although to be honest I was surprised how low it really was as I thought it would have been over 100 gallons a day. Now peak season use is a different story.

I would disagree.

For my family of four, our average daily use was 167 gallons per day. That works out to 42 gallons each. I don't know how you use much water cooking or washing dishes -- especially if you live alone. We have a 2.5 gpm shower head, and our showers are about 5-10 min. apiece. My teenagers take the 10 showers. The other big water expense is our clothes washer we do about 5-6 loads per week.

In the summer, our usage is higher -- about 220 gallons per day (55 gallons per person).

[brightdoglover]

When I lived without running water in Maine, I heated water on the stove and used a large basin and pitcher for sponge bath/hair. I much prefer a real shower, but obviously one can keep clean without one.
Water would have to be pretty expensive for anyone (me) to give up a shower. Now, if it simply isn't available...

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by davidv

I would disagree.

For my family of four, our average daily use was 167 gallons per day. That works out to 42 gallons each. I don't know how you use much water cooking or washing dishes -- especially if you live alone. We have a 2.5 gpm shower head, and our showers are about 5-10 min. apiece. My teenagers take the 10 showers. The other big water expense is our clothes washer we do about 5-6 loads per week.

In the summer, our usage is higher -- about 220 gallons per day (55 gallons per person).

The numbers actually make sense. A person living alone would have a little higher per person average then a family of four yet the total gallons used would be less as mine is. Now my summer usage is more.

[highplainsrus]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

The numbers actually make sense. A person living alone would have a little higher per person average then a family of four yet the total gallons used would be less as mine is. Now my summer usage is more.

One of the sources I ran across for Las Vegas NM mentioned 2000 gal/month for a household as "subsistence usage", while 4000 gal/month is "normal domestic usage".

http://www.lasvegasnm.gov/W-WW-GasFI...y7-12-2012.pdf

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by highplainsrus

One of the sources I ran across for Las Vegas NM mentioned 2000 gal/month for a household as "subsistence usage", while 4000 gal/month is "normal domestic usage".

http://www.lasvegasnm.gov/W-WW-GasFI...y7-12-2012.pdf

Interesting. Most of the year I am actually below it. However due to my lawn watering my average would be more.

[Colorado Rambler]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

When I lived without running water in Maine, I heated water on the stove and used a large basin and pitcher for sponge bath/hair. I much prefer a real shower, but obviously one can keep clean without one.
Water would have to be pretty expensive for anyone (me) to give up a shower. Now, if it simply isn't available...

I'm another person who lived for an extended length of time without access to water that comes from the tap. I once spent an entire summer tent camping on BLM land near the San Miguel River between Telluride and Norwood. I had the option of hopping into the icey San Miguel for a VERY quick bath or heating a couple of gallons of water over the campfire and doing the sponge bath routine. I bathed every day and kept myself pretty clean under the circumstances.

Things went to hell when some idiot in Telluride decided to dump raw sewage from the town directly into the San Miguel. Every community downstream all the way to Naturita was adversely impacted. It's bad enough that the San Miguel is polluted from the leachings from old mining tailings; adding human waste to the river made it absolutely deadly. I had to make a 40 mile round trip to buy drinking water by the gallon from the little grocery store in Norwood. I learned all kinds of ways to consrve water. Like I stopped rinsing my dishes after I washed them. I had an uncle who was a chemist and claimed there was no need to rinse washed dishes. Turns out he was right.

Cortez has had water restrictions in place every since I moved here. I've reached the point where I feel guilty using water on a lawn. So, this year I got a couple of books about gardening using plants and flowers native to the arid Southwest - you can buy the seeds via the Internet and one of the nurseries here also stocks them. Frankly, I think a yard filled with wild flowers is prettier than a lawn of blue grass, anyhow.