Happy World Water Monitoring Day! This is a cause Ecovie Water Management supports. The focus is on measuring water quality in our waterways. We are totally focused on improving water quality in many ways.
If we have no clean water, we are all truly in very bad shape. Measuring water quality, and frankly measuring a lot of other things about water is critical to getting people to care about this life-supporting resource. As we scientific types like to say, you do not know how to tackle a problem unless you can measure it. Measurement is the first step. Awareness of the value of clean water is next. As Benjamin Franklin put is well when he said, “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water”.
At Ecovie, we believe the root cause of poor water quality and dwindling supply is that water is not valued as much as it should be. We also believe we have the knowledge and the means to manage water in a way that assures an ample supply of water for all, regardless of any possible external effects like droughts, climate change (regardless of cause), demand for food, demand for our forests, fauna, and waterways; in short, everything. If not, we would not be doing what we are doing.
Steps to change:
- A small number of people identify the problem
- Someone or many people measure the problem
- Many people get support from the general population
- Someone or many people find a solution
You can surely think of many examples of this process happening in many fields. We give one example as a shout out to the father of microbiology, French biologist, Louis Pasteur. See this link.
Today, we have a situation where water is wasted due to how we supply and use water. Clean drinking water is wasted as the distribution pipes get old and are not repaired, and also because we use drinking water for purposes that do not require drinking water. We leave taps open when not necessary. Maybe we take too many long lingering showers. We have way too many leaky toilet valves and we run half-full laundry and dishwasher loads.
Information to the general public about water scarcity and pollution is not prominent in the media or in the news. Water prices are heavily subsidized so people do not see the true cost or value. Only those geographies that already have water scarcity and water quality issue value water for what it is worth. But, we need to think about the future and the possibility that clean water shortages will become more widespread.
This lack of awareness is making water quality worse. Enter groups like EarthEcho to promote water quality measurement. Also see this cool link from Environmental Working Group, a non-profit bringing awareness to water quality. Just enter your zip code and see what contaminants have been measured.
The World Water Monitoring Challenge is a great example of the leadership we need in the public organizations to raise the awareness and education about water in local communities, engaging the citizens to take action.
By monitoring the water we consume and establishing monitoring systems in all areas of water management, we can help protect this valuable resource.
Ecovie is all about implementing solutions to our water issues one building at a time. Our onsite water management from Aqualoop NSF 350 certified greywater recycling to commercial-scale potable rainwater systems. Aqualoop’s Intewa Connect system monitors recycled water production and quality and keeps track of equipment performance, reporting to building management systems, and to our outside maintenance staff. Our commercial potable rainwater systems automatically report water quality and equipment status to state authorities who require reports as part of the permitting agreement.