In the west and southwest US a widespread drought have city and state officials struggling to finish large water projects while their populations continue growing. Drinking water resources are dwindling.
The federal government (U.S. tax payers) are responsible for paying about $3 billion to complete several rural water projects around the country. The amount is expected to grow by the time the work is done. This represents a fraction of the more than $600 billion needed to address the nation’s water and waste water processing cost over the next 20 years.
The real truth is cities, counties and states nation wide Are Not taking real tangible actions to conserve treated drinking water.
I have seen estimates that as much as 50 percent of Americas safe drinking water is wasted on watering home and commercial(business) lawns and landscaping. In many cases lawns and landscape plants are over watered and over fertilized. Home and business owners often over use or incorrectly use herbicides and pesticides.
One solution, maybe the best solution is to take a look back to a time when much of America did not have access to government funded, government subsidized water sources.
A time when home owners, renters and business owners relied on native plantings that required little or no water supplied by man.
The terms Zeroscape or Xeroscape™ are nothing more than relearning what our grand parents knew. Drinking Water is a limited and costly resource that is not to wasted.
I suspect that all those people that never lived in the country or in an area that did not have access to city water supplies will continue to use and waste billions of gallons of water until the day arrives when they turn the tap nothing comes out.
The bottom line is the water users, not U.S. taxpayers should and must pay the cost incurred to provide safe drinking water.
Not from the USA. Please leave me comment about your home town and country.
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Why is common sense so uncommon?
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Town & Country Gardening 
As part of our house renovations this year, I plan on getting a rain barrel. I am really intrigued and learning more about them. Definitely will make gardening easier! If anyone needs water, just come to Buffalo and take some of the 20 foot high snow piles we will have in our parking lots until May!
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Grin… I would really like to have a bit of your excess moisture, but, if it has to come to me in snow I think I’ll pass and wait for it to start raining on southwest Oklahoma again.
Happy gardening
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The only reason to use treated tap water on your lawn or garden is convenience and that is why most people do it. In reality that water is not even good for plants of any kind. We water with it only in times of desperation. We see a world of difference between water from the tap and the water from the barrels which we save off the roof and such. We need to do more of that. Great post as usual.
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Your right. plants just don’t respond to tap water with all it’s chemicals, the same as they do when watered with rain water.
Happy Gardening
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I live in a dry part of the UK (there are some), we are avid gardeners and have slowly been increasing the number of rain-water-collecting butts over the years. A few years ago we installed an underground water-collection tank. We need all of these, but we don’t use tap water in the garden.
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Grin … My area of southwest Oklahoma has been in a severe to exceptional(worst conditions) drought for the past 5 years. Sad smile, I haven’t had enough rain to fill three 50 gallon rain barrels this year.
Happy Gardening
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Thought provoking. Makes me wonder if we’d have Vegas and countless golf courses in arid climates!
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Smile… how many golf courses is enough?
Happy gardening
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Water, like so many things, we take for granted, especially here in the US. I think having well water makes you think more about your water usage. Something about having your water come from a city line makes you think of it as a magical, endless source.
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Big grin … well water is not always an option. Where I live there is not any under-ground water. a 100 foot or a 1,000 foot deep well is still a dry hole.
happy gardening
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Good point.
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