Do people really know how much water they waste? Justin Sorenson thinks they may not.
From the running faucet, to the broken sprinkler and leaky pipe, we are losing gallons of water every hour of each day. We are in real need of change and unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be something that will come easily. Why do people waste water? Is it due to a lack of care? Lack of education? Or a combination of the two? As I interviewed Justin I got the impression that beyond very few that just don’t care about wasting water, it really comes down to a lack of education and ignorance.
At 6’3”, with brown hair, brown shoes and pants, an orange checkered shirt with green tie, Justin Sorenson, a Management Analyst for Sandy City in the Public Utilities Department, was very knowledgeable and had a real passion for what he did. Between his degree in Public Administration to the last three years working for Sandy City, I got the sense that he was interested in helping the public by educating them on the different ways we can take care of our planet. Specifically water, in which he brought to light ways to conserve that I was unaware of myself.
In one of my opening questions, I asked him how bad the drought in Utah was and how we compared to other parts around the country. He stated that we are moderate to severe, which isn’t good. But compared to say California or Washington, we aren’t so bad. These states are in an extremely severe drought that doesn’t look to be getting better anytime soon, if at all. Due to the lack of regulation on wells and water waste on lawns, these states have been drying up immensely.
With a changing climate and snowpack levels not reaching our yearly average over the past few years, Justin says Utah is a lot more dry than in the past. This, along with personal water waste, affects each person in our state adversely. One way that he touched on is the restrictions on watering lawns only during certain times of day, and the ability to be fined if not in accordance with your city's water conservation regulations. Another is a rising price in water if we do not reduce our use. This is why it is important to be up to date on your specific town’s water usage plans.
There are many ways a person may knowingly or unknowingly be wasting gallons of water everyday. He states the majority of water wasted outside is from over watering our lawns. After installing a sprinkler system, we have the timer set then leave it to water without adjusting for time of year and inclimate weather. Another way we are using to much water inside the house is our toilets. In the mid nineties many were replaced with a low flow style of toilet that helps cut down on the massive amounts one flush can use.
I also asked Justin what a person should do if they see a broken sprinkler somewhere, like the one I saw when leaving for work one morning. At the apartment complex across the street, one of the lines was broke and water had been spewing on the road. He said that the best thing to do is go and let that person know so that they can fix the problem themselves. Saying that a lot of times they are glad that the issue was brought to there attention, being unaware of the problem.
Saving water and using less is easier then we may think. Justin gave some great ways we can help do our part. Between water smart meters that we can view online, showing our usage, to leak alerts that show when you are and aren’t using water, helping to detect a leaky pipe. These are just some of the easy ways to keep track of the water going through our homes, Then with this data we can adjust our usage accordingly. Also, some cities are now implementing an increasing price structure, trying to help people see how much water they are using, and hopefully reduce their use.
Toward the end of our interview, I asked Justin “Do you feel your occupation has helped change your outlook on water usage”? “Yes,” he said, “I was really curious when I bought my house how much my first water bill was going to be compared to others that I had seen”. He went on to say “I think the main thing is for people to just pay attention to how much they are using. Because most people, if you ask how many gallons a month of water are they using, they don't know”. Although less expensive than other bills Justin expresses the need for us to pay attention to this, because wasting water is not something that should be taken lightly, it is a big deal.
Finally, I asked where a person that would have interest in learning ways to conserve and reduce the amount of water they use could go. Justin said there are many ways, including Sandy city's website, the National drought conservation website as well as brochures at your local city center. All have very good information on how to create a more green and water conscience world to live in for future generations.
In the end of the interview, I had the impression again that beyond very few that just don’t care about wasting water, it really comes down to a lack of education and ignorance. Through my interview, Justin Sorenson expressed those concerns. The main message that I received is that, there are many easy ways to control our water usage and prevent waste. If we as a world are willing to come together to learn and participate, we can have clean water at a reasonable price for years to come.