Shoalwaters
Guru
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2008
- Messages
- 681
- Location
- St. Lucia, West Indies
- Vessel Name
- "Dragon Lady"
- Vessel Make
- DeFever 41
Here in St. Lucia we are currently subject to water rationing. Why? Well the recently constructed dam has silted up and now only has 50% of its original capacity. Add to this that it's the rainy season, but hasn't rained for some time and you get the idea.
Anyway, the water authority pressures up the main for around 6 hours every five days. We fill our two "emergency" water tanks and do laundry etc. Somehow conserving water when on the boat comes more naturally than doing so in my home. Also, on the boat I can run the watermaker, whereas, when the house tanks are dry they stay dry until the water gods smile again.
I have taken to placing a 5 gallon plastic bucket below the shower head and somewhat inelegantly leaning over it when showering. The water thus collected is used for toilet flushing. From this I have drawn two not very startling conclusions: 1. A regular shower uses very roughly 3 gallons of water and 2. A significant portion of this goes down the drain while I'm standing away from the spray doing the soap and shampoo thing. Much less water would be wasted if, once temperature and flow rate have been set, the on/off function could be controlled by a foot pedal. Spring loaded faucets are something of a PITA, but would reduce consumption too.
Is such a foot-pedal control available?
What strategies do forum members use to conserve water?
Anyway, the water authority pressures up the main for around 6 hours every five days. We fill our two "emergency" water tanks and do laundry etc. Somehow conserving water when on the boat comes more naturally than doing so in my home. Also, on the boat I can run the watermaker, whereas, when the house tanks are dry they stay dry until the water gods smile again.
I have taken to placing a 5 gallon plastic bucket below the shower head and somewhat inelegantly leaning over it when showering. The water thus collected is used for toilet flushing. From this I have drawn two not very startling conclusions: 1. A regular shower uses very roughly 3 gallons of water and 2. A significant portion of this goes down the drain while I'm standing away from the spray doing the soap and shampoo thing. Much less water would be wasted if, once temperature and flow rate have been set, the on/off function could be controlled by a foot pedal. Spring loaded faucets are something of a PITA, but would reduce consumption too.
Is such a foot-pedal control available?
What strategies do forum members use to conserve water?