Today we talked with Jackie Lebouitz the Water Resources Program Assistant at UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County on water conservation and irrigation.
About Our Guest
Jackie graduated from New College of Florida in 2019 with an Environmental Studies degree. She has worked on promoting water conservation through education, outreach, and program development. She firmly believes that clean water should be accessible to everyone, and that the key to preserving our future supply rests in our hands. After she worked in “healthy pond certification” she was offered her position in Sarasota with the extension office. Jackie is helping the people of her district become more actively engaged in all thing water and conservation.
Water
Water covers over 71% of our Earth, but the freshwater available is a very tiny amount we can use as potable water. With 1,000 people moving to Florida each day we will need 4.7 billion gallons a day by 2040…. Since around 90 percent of Floridians rely on Florida groundwater for some portion of their water, that leaves us 370 million gallons short.
With strides in desalinization (for seawater) and increased use of grey water plus improved reclaimed water quality we are getting on track.
How you can help
Switching from sprays to drip irrigation will save each homeowner about 70%. You can find kits to reconfigure old standard stick irrigation systems. Along with catching rainwater from our roofs, gathering our grey water (bathtub, laundry, pasta water etc.) and using improved reclaimed water we all can make a big difference in the water issues.
Having a rain sensor will prevent irrigation timers for going off when unnecessary. Checking the system yearly (batteries, cork disks etc.) will keep it running smoothly. The expanding disks trigger a switch that interrupts the irrigation cycle when the chosen rainfall setting is reached. Just turn the system on and wet the sensor with a hose. If working, it shuts off. You can also retrofit your pipe irrigation into drip systems too. Once the disks dry out and shrink, the switch is released, and the system resumes its scheduled cycles.
Below are 2 links to show how to retrofit your pipe irrigation into drip systems:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=420&v=kNLvmLJeYTE&feature=emb_title
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D_S0A0gFr6w
The most water used at home are toilets, showers, and sinks. Get a low flow toilet or retrofit your old. Done with a tank dam or even a 2-liter soda bottle in the tank will offset amount of water needed for flushing.
Low flow showers and the simple act of turning off water while not needed is a continual thought. Just not keeping water on while brushing your teeth adds to Conservation.
In April 2021 Jackie published an article titled, Want a healthy yard? Water less!
It talks about training our lawns and plants to send deeper roots for keeping cool and damp. Though Florida isn’t restricted, we learned that not all states allow catching rainwater. That some states are so dry, all available rain in groundwater must go to farms only.
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/2020/05/01/an-introduction-to-water-conservation/
TAKE ACTION
You can do your part by creating habits of water conservation and efficiency. Consider the true value of water each time you turn on the tap and figure out ways to cut your water use. You can estimate your water use at home with this calculator in the link. To get started saving, try picking out a couple areas where you can reduce your weekly water consumption.
https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/conservation/water-use-calculator
If you enjoyed this show and our weekly content, please consider going to WMNF.org, donating through the tip jar and directing your donation to the Sustainable Living show. Your donation helps keep us on air.
NEXT WEEK: Tune in LABOR DAY Sept 7, Monday morning at 11 for the next Sustainable Living Show, where we will be talking with Jose Dubeux on developing a sustainable livestock production system.
Remember if you are looking for someone to save the world – look in the mirror.
