California Currents|Online, Summer 2009

A rainy February and March have slightly reduced the severity of this year's water shortage, but a third straight below normal water year has still sparked calls for water conservation around the state.

Is this yet another sign of climate change, or is it just one of the dry spells to which our state is prone? Whichever is the correct response, it makes sense for all of us to begin thinking differently about the ways in which we use and misuse water. One example of common water waste is our "use it once and throw it away" mentality, which regards as contaminated any water that has left the tap, no matter how lightly used. This water, better known as "gray water," is waste water from sinks, washers and showers that has not been contaminated with harsh chemicals or human or animal waste. Reusing this water source can substantially reduce water use and associated costs.

You may already be familiar with the most common form of gray water capture and reuse - placing a bucket in the shower to capture water for the garden or to flush the toilet. It is possible to maximize home gray water reuse by installing a system that diverts water from the sink, shower, and washing machine to the garden. However, the cost can vary dramatically - from a few hundred dollars for a home-made system, to several thousand for a properly permitted and constructed system. The cost of obtaining required permits, and the limited number of allowable uses (the state code, and most municipalities, only allow gray water to be used for outdoor subsurface irrigation) discourages many households from moving forward. Those that do tend to avoid the frustrating and expensive permit process and install a system without the blessing or knowledge of the local permitting authority.

Clean Water Action is working at the state level to reduce disincentives for gray water reuse. Last year, Senator Alan Lowenthal (D, Long Beach) authored SB 1258, which requires the state Department of Housing and Community Development to update the state's Plumbing Code to include new indoor and outdoor uses for gray water. That process is currently underway and we are working to ensure its proper implementation.

Ideally, a statewide gray water code would exempt single family homes from permit requirements if they meet certain prerequisites that ensure that the water meets water quality standards. Once adopted, this code would become the minimum standard for municipalities around the state.

We'll be asking for your help on this issue in the coming months - stay tuned!!

Five More Things you can do to save water!

1. Update your fixtures. Most water agencies are offering significant rebates for high-efficiency toilets and washing machines, and many give away aerated faucets and showerheads. The reduction in your water and sanitary sewer bill will pay off the residual cost in two to five years.
2. Fix leaks. Leaky faucets and toilets can waste a huge amount of water, and are easily fixed. Many water agencies give away leak detection kits, or will do a free water audit and find leaks for you!
3. Install smart irrigation equipment. New irrigation equipment doesn't work on a timer, but is triggered by the moisture content of the soil - so it only waters when needed.
4. Support conservation measures at your local utility or town council. Some measures that can be enacted locally include; instituting a tiered rate structure that charges more for those who use the most water; requiring that homes and businesses retrofit plumbing fixtures when the house is sold; and enforcing water waste prohibitions (like those against allowing irrigation water to overflow into the gutters).
5. Support conservation legislation at the state level; call your legislator and ask him or her to support two important conservation measures; AB1408 (authored by Assembly member Krekorian) that establishes standards to promote "water neutral" developments; and AB 49 (co-authored by Assembly members Feuer and Huffman) that implements the Governor's call for a 20% reduction in per capita water use by 2020.

In this issue of California Currents|Online:

Chemical Policy Reform Moves Forward
The Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) is fast tracking implementation of two bills passed by the state Legislature in 2008 -- AB 1879 (Feuer) and SB 509 (Simitian) -- with the goal of establishing related regulations this year. Clean Water Action is taking a lead role, along with our allies in the CHANGE (Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy) coalition, in DTSC's public stakeholder process. Our goal is to ensure that the regulations will be developed and enforced in a way that truly protects the environment and human health and drives the development of "green" chemicals.

Reuse A Key To Solving California's Water Shortage
A rainy February and March have slightly reduced the severity of this year's water shortage, but a third straight below normal water year has still sparked calls for water conservation around the state.

Is this yet another sign of climate change, or is it just one of the dry spells to which our state is prone? Whichever is the correct response, it makes sense for all of us to begin thinking differently about the ways in which we use and misuse water.

Support Ban On Foam Take-Out Containers
Polystrene is the second most common type of beach debris in California and it comprises 15% of street litter. Styrene, a chemical in PS, is a known animal carcinogen, and a human neurotoxin. It migrates easily into food and beverages when foam containers are heated or come into contact with acids (like lemon juice) and fats or oils. A study of human fat tissue by the US EPA in 1982 found that all Americans have Styrene in their bodies.

Stimulus Money Wisely
The Federal Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law by President Obama on February 17 of this year, but Clean Water Action has been working with the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the State Water Board (Board) since last November to establish criteria under which more than $400 million of stimulus funding for water projects should be spent.

Want To Solve Marine Debris? Change the 3Rs to the 3Ps
Clean Water Action is working to resolve the growing problem of marine debris by preventing litter at the source. Thanks to the plethora of waste from our "throw away" society, there is a garbage patch in the Northwest Gyre of the Pacific Ocean estimated to be twice the size of Texas.

Getting the Lead Out
Clean Water Action is supporting an important bill to protect our waterways from lead contamination. SB 757 (Pavley) will ban the manufacture, use, and distribution of lead wheel weights in cars.

For California Woman, Protecting A River Can Cost You A Job
Heather Wylie traded her job for a river. And, given the choice, she'd do it again.

During the summer of 2008, Wylie joined a handful of protestors for a canoe and kayak trip down the LA River, earning the wrath of her employers and the attention of a nation. Why? At the time, Wylie was a biologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers. The agency had just declared the LA River as not navigable--a designation that put the watershed at risk and would have set a.dangerous precedent. Wylie and her compatriots were making their voyage to prove the Army Corps wrong. If their fleet could make the journey, they reasoned, then the LA River must be in-fact navigable, a critical first step in retaining Clean Water Act safeguards for the LA River system.

Restoring the Clean Water Act Must Top Congress' Agenda
Restoring the ability of the Clean Water Act to protect water resources must top Congress' water agenda. Supreme Court and agency decisions put at risk Clean Water Act protections for headwater, intermittent and ephemeral streams that supply drinking water systems that serve more than 110 million Americans. In total, 59 percent of the nation's waterways and millions of acres of wetlands are currently at risk.

What You Won't See In Those 'Clean Coal' Ads: Dirty Air, A Wall of Sludge, Poisoned Rivers
Surely you've seen the ads. They are scattered around the internet and splashed across our newspapers and magazines. Their commercials interrupt our favorite television shows and invade our local radio station's airspace. Yes, the ads are everywhere. But that doesn't make them true.

No PR campaign, no matter how well executed, can make coal clean. It's simply not possible.

Advocates for "clean" coal argue that technology exists-almost-that will allow coal-fired power plants to capture their carbon emissions and store the climate-changing gas deep under ground. Technically, this is true. Realistically, this would be extremely expensive, and wouldn't even begin to address most of the impacts felt by water. From mines to power plants, the process of wresting energy from coal is dirty and unhealthy for our waters, our communities and ourselves.

How Safe is Your Bath Tub?
Children's bubble baths should be clean, safe and fun. But No More Toxic Tub, a report published in March 2009 by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in partnership with Clean Water Action and other organizations, found contaminants and other hazardous ingredients in numerous popular shampoos, soaps and body care products marketed to babies and children.

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