If you live on Oahu and have been looking askance at the debacle known now as the Red Hill water crisis, look again. An anticipated dry summer might necessitate mandatory water restrictions, according to the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. The Red Hill water crisis meanders forward with obfuscation and some red faces, but resolutions (and time frames) are not yet in clear sight. But we can lessen our own water usage via simple solutions that’ll add up when repeated by hundreds of thousands of Oahu residents. We’ve been here before, but here are easily implementable ideas to obviate the looming concern about pending water usage restrictions…
Brush your teeth and/or shave with the sink water off. If you… um, “go” often, don’t flush every time. As we say, “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” (easier to do when living alone or with an empathetic, significant other). Shorten lawn watering times, manually or remotely; water less frequently- in the early AM; shut ‘em down if it’s wet out; make sure automatic sprinklers are aimed accurately.
And those vital, stress relieving, daily showers? Put on your favorite five-minute song as you begin. When it ends, you end. No more 10-minute masterpieces under the shining Moen in your near future, please. The neighbors will thank you, too, as your singing will be truncated. Oh, and sorry, but baths tend to be water hogs (vs. short showers). Check for household leaks (toilets, sinks, pipes, et al.). Run full loads only in the washing machine and dishwasher. Smartly rinse dishes without running the faucet ad nauseum. Clean vegetables and fruits thoroughly, but quickly.
You can take an active role in water conservation, as we all lend a hand now. I’ve pondered whether water, an essential and scarce survival resource, will become the oil of the 21sy century. In some places, it is already used as a weapon or a bargaining chit, and its handling has caused great consternation and sometimes great cost. Ask your friends living in the mainland southwestern what the future of potable water portends- it’s not rosy, it’s not fiction, and it’s not a fear-mongering plot. Heck, ask your friends in Moanalua!
Chicken Little exasperated her friends when she insisted that the “sky is falling”. With current groundwater issues here, a sizzling summer might provide us with a grim reminder of what happens when the rain is not falling.
Think about it…