Car washing - SA water restictions- that begin midnight tonight

[merlin]

Originally Posted by HyperKid

I wash my car on the lawn and will not use buckets... It's time-consuming AND yes, I find that I use more water using the buckets. I just was my car at midnight... no white Camry with yellow stickers going around at that time. In fact, i've never seen any water restriction patrol car going around my area.

Well they have to actually catch you in the act to fine you and even then you can just go inside, lock the door and refuse to talk to them. (not that I am condoning people waste water, just the mental image of someone doing this is amusing to me) :

[GXL078]

I have washing my cars with a watering can for about 3 years now. I am the only one in my complex that does though, the rest couldn't care less about the water restrictions, or the $250 fines.

[BENT_8]

I cant see what the problem is with washing our cars on the lawn.
It makes sense to kill two birds with one stone.
A clean car and a healthy lawn using the same amount of water sounds alot more environmentally friendly to me.

When i was a yard hand for a large dealership years ago we had the hose running all day, yet only 20% ever made its way onto the cars.
This is what gives me the shits now, all those millions of litres of water wasted then when no one cared and now the car yards can still wash there cars on ashphalt but i cant use a hose on my lawn.

And on a side note, how can a government that allows people to buy Hydroponic equipment so easily whinge about water use when a **** load of water gets wasted every day growing illegal product.

You would think the SA government would consider the water wastage created from Hydro setups weather it be legit or illegal purposes( admittedly there is less wastage these days but there is no point closing the gate when the horse has bolted) and introduce a system where all purchases must be logged and equipment given serial no's so only approved people can have these set ups.

When people stop pouring water around POT plants i will stop using my hose!

[max]

Originally Posted by OzJavelin

Don't use a bucket .. use a watering can. You can wash a car with about four watering can refills (one "fill" and three "refills"). Telling people to use a bucket is a stupid idea. It wastes more water than it saves!!

Exactly! A bucket is moronic. Who are these lepton-brains that come out with such crrrrrrrraaaaappppp??

[Bill_R]

Originally Posted by jabba

The other problem our stupid politicions new was happening, but did nothing about is our population growth.. We have the fastest growing population, 1500 new residents week I think it is. Yet they have not upgraded the dam in 20 or more years...

The other problem that anoys me is. We live on the Coast line of the Pacific Ocean, and there is no shortage of water out there... Sure that have got the Tugun desalination test plant going. But what they should be doing is sticking a heap of those Desalination plant up the whole coast line, Even set them up so they can be underwater, so thay are not a eye sore... Then we will never have a water shortage again..... I have a real problem why we can not start facturing the cost of mass scale desalination into State and Federal Government...

desalination is one solution that needs looking into. I think they'd need to look at possible effects on salinity and the energy requirements. I'm not saying those would impact but they certainly need investigation. tank water for new residents that is supplemented by the current water grid should be looked at. storing water other than in dams should be looked at - undeground bladders have had some attention - there are other options. Treated effluent needs to be looked at - even untreated it's a nutrient that can be used. If we dont' want to drink it then think about using it for irrigation. I had a lecturer that was an advisor to energy policy to the canadian government - they pumped effluent through a river bank into a river and planted a commercial pine crop along the banks. they ended up with pure water back in the river/water source and a cash income from harvesting the trees. Recycling stormwater needs to be looked at.

when it comes to the crunch I doubt washing a car has much effect (if it does I'd like to see the figures). It's possibly less than a coule of showers a week. depending on who has the shower of course - for some it might be half a shower.