   |  | | Don Elder speaks | By Mike Magee, MD
In 2002, the US celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.1 As part of that celebration, 30 "Heroes of the Clean Water Act" were identified. Don Elder was one of them.2 Today Don serves as president of the River Network, a national organization that supports the efforts of state and local river conservation organizations.3 In April, I joined a small group of health environmentalists to hear what was on Don's mind these days, since he has historically been one step ahead of everyone else. What I heard surprised me.
Don, a leader who eats, breathes and sleeps water, was focused on global warming and energy consumption. In short order I understood why. Don said that the two great global and social issues of our day were climate change and water availability, and that their solution was inseparably integrated. In a 2006 EPA webinar, Don said, "Only the healthiest watersheds will be resilient enough to support the full range of life in the face of climate change...The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a 4 to 5 degree rise in temperature, and an 11 to 23 inch rise in sea levels by the end of the century." 4 To water experts like Don, climate change spells the worst of both worlds; more frequent and severe storms in the wet seasons, leading to floods and disasters, and more lengthy and profound droughts in the dry seasons. Disasters to the left of me and water wars to the right.
But before you become too depressed, hear Don out, because he is extraordinarily optimistic and believes he knows just what to do and how to get it done. Let's consider where we are. The 2008 election is just around the corner and domestic issue #1 is gas prices, followed by food prices and health care prices. Rolled together: the Economy. Don believes that the fastest way to save energy is to save water. He says: "Saving energy by saving water will keep coal and oil in the ground, carbon out of the air, water in our streams, and money in our pockets.”4 And he has the facts to prove it.
It may surprise you that the per-capita consumption of water in the United States has been flat. Technology advances have led to lower use rates in agriculture and industry, while municipal use as we have urbanized continues to rise. But overall, our use is flat. Before you cheer, understand that flat use for us freezes our consumption at about 200 gallons a day for every man, woman and child.4 Saying we're wasteful doesn't even begin to capture it. What's truly amazing is that experts believe that through a series of reasonable steps, we could decrease per-capita water consumption in America by 20% in 10 years, 50% in 25 years and 75% in 50 years.4
How is that possible and what's in it for us? What's in it for us, says Don, is a solution to our energy problem. He believes that saving energy by saving water "beats ethanol by a mile because it doesn't compete with food and has no carbon footprint; and beats new technology plans for carbon capture in energy plants because we know it will work, it's ready to go and would save energy immediately."4
Now if you are like me, you're not immediately seeing the connection between water and energy consumption. On the city side, think pumping, transporting, capturing and cleansing - all of which take energy. On the domestic side, think heating and dumping, which of course demands that someone catch, transport, cleanse and redistribute what you dump. Municipal water treatment plants consume 75 billion Kilowatts of electricity in the United States each year. That is 3% of all of our energy consumption, enough energy to manage the residential energy needs of California.4 The financial cost now tops $4 billion, and the carbonization-induced global warming impact is enormous. Any water going most anywhere, whether it is to our homes, our factories or our fields, can't get there without pumps. Once there, from factories to homes, we often heat the water. And heating uses energy. Keeping your kitchen faucet on for 5 minutes to heat the water uses more electricity then keeping a 60 watt light bulb on in the house for 14 hours. Your hot water heater is the third largest energy consumer in your house.4
So water is energy. But will saving water be possible and how would we go about it? Don says we'll do it by conservation, efficiency and reuse. Conservation is a matter of adjusting our habits, and efficiency is about using new hardware. Neither adjusting habits, nor changing hardware, as it turns out, involves much hardship. Less than one third of the water we use needs to be pure. Said another way, two thirds of the water we consume is used to flush toilets, water lawns and the like. In the future, as we replace appliances and water systems, we'll be going to systems that reuse and recycle. So for example the water you use to shower will be able to be used to flush a toilet. The water captured by your roof drains, instead of running off, will be available to water plants. The incentives to be smart about water use will increase. Think tiered pricing. Basic amounts will be priced low because water is a human right, essential for survival. Tier two will be priced higher for discretionary use, causing you to think conservation. Tier three will be priced much higher to discourage waste. Technology will help - like new toilets with a double flush to choose from- small flush for liquid, large flush for solid. 26% of the water used by the average American family goes down the toilet - literally. Rainwater harvest is already here, in homes and in buildings. The new Bank of America tower, on its ceiling footprint in New York City, captures 100% of rainwater and directs it inside for use. Home rain harvesting meets generally 20% of home use consumption needs.4
Throwing away wastewater is, well, wasteful. Other countries like Australia and Israel don't do it. And states like California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada are headed in the same direction. Conservation is habits, retooled by education, good citizenship and financial disincentives tied to waste. Efficiency is hardware. As things wear out, replace them with EPA WaterSense certified appliances.5 Reuse - think rainwater and envision your home with at least two supply systems, one with pure water, the other with grey water; and don't let that rain water escape.
Don Elder says all water-related energy consumption in the US equals 300 billion kilowatts a year. Water is energy. Energy is water. Want us off of foreign oil? Want our air to be clean of carbon? Want our temperatures stabilized? Want our fields filled with food rather then fuel? Think water, water, water.
References:
1. Clean Water Act. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 26 March 2008.
2. Don Elder named a national Clean Water Act hero
One of thirty Clean Water Act heroes to celebrate Act's 30th anniversary. River Network. 18 Oct. 2002.
3. Don Elder, president of River Network. RIver Network.
4. Water, Energy and Climate Change. U.S Environmental Protection Agency. 3 Oct. 2007.
5. Water Sense U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 13 June 2008.
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