By Barbara Tellman

"The Water's In!"

Before there were government agencies, rules, regulations and management plans, there was water. The following is from an article by Juanita Brooks that appeared in Harper's, May 1941, and tells of life along the Virgin River in Bunkerville, Nevada, a few miles from the Arizona border. It appears to describe a much simpler time when rules and regulations were few. Despite the great difference between that era and the present, both share a concern about the wise use of water.

"You who live in cities and need only turn a tap to have all the clear water you need will wonder at my theme. You have probably accepted water as one of the essentials, like electricity, which comes to you for a small monthly fee. You who live on farms where there is plenty of rainfall will scarcely understand either. But all who live in the arid lands of the West will appreciate the significance of the words, ‘The water's in!' "

"In my childhood that shout was the most welcome news we ever heard. We children would gather on the banks of the town canal to watch the water's arrival and to throw in sticks and boards. Some of the most daring would get into the ditch and wait until the first little waves, darting into the low places, licked at their bare toes, then run on again. ...

"As far back as I can remember, the whole routine of my chores was determined by whether or not the water was in the ditch. When it was, my duty was to fill the barrels from the little stream which ran along the sidewalk. We always had our drinking barrel, swathed in burlap, set under the cottonwood trees to keep cool. ...

"To what economies we were forced! Water was literally measured by the drip. You must never dip a full cup from the barrel; you should take only a little bit, just what you could drink. If you were handed a full cup you drank what you wanted and gave the rest back to the host to dispose of. Usually he handed it to the next person, or poured it carefully into a bucket kept for waste water, to be given later to the chickens. ...

"The Saturday bath water had an interesting history. Forced to serve more than one person, it must be used to wash out socks or overalls or to wipe up the floor before it was finally poured into the hollow around discouraged rosebush or young tree. ...

"Such water as it was! Always muddy, sometimes it seemed fully one-fourth silt. Not for hours did it become clear. Usually we just dipped it up and gave it its time; but we learned that a tablespoon of milk would separate a flaky, red precipitate, or a bit of the inner pulp of cactus would settle it quickly without affecting the taste. Worse than the silt was the mineral dissolved in the water which gave it such a peculiar taste and earned for it the title ‘Virgin Bloat.' "

by Val Little

Water CASA — Dedicated to Save Water

R esearch, education and friendly persuasion are the water-saving strategies adopted by the Water Conservation Alliance of Southern Arizona, a consortium of five Tucson area water providers. Organized last year by the University of Arizona's Water Resources Research Center, Water CASA pools the resources and interests of Avra Water Co-op, Community Water of Green Valley, Flowing Wells Irrigation District, Town of Marana Water Department and Metro Water District. Pima County Wastewater and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation also are members.
To better target conservation programs to individual water customers, Water CASA developed Welcome Packets for new customers of its member utilities. The Welcome Packets contain a wealth of print material to help residents manage their water use more effectively and also include coupons for a variety of discounts. For example, the Water Resources Research Center offers a coupon for a 50-percent discount on its acclaimed Desert Landscaping CD-Rom.
Water CASA also arranged bulk ordering of conservation devices such as low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators, to be given to interested customers. Customers moving into residences with old, high-water-use fixtures also are provided without charge a leak detection kit for their toilets and also a displacement device for the toilet.
Also involved with public policy issues, Water CASA hosted a Conservation Alternatives Workshop for water providers throughout Arizona to clarify the following Arizona Department of Water Resources options: Gallons Per-Capita per Day (GPCD), Non-Per-Capita (NPC), and the Alternate Conservation Program (ACP). Background information was provided on each program. Sessions outlined characteristics of water providers most likely to benefit from each program option.
Water CASA is responding to a Pima County request to suggest ordinance and policy language to increase countywide water conservation efforts.
Water CASA's agenda also includes research. ADWR provided funding for the alliance to conduct a one-year study to determine which conservation measures (e.g. toilet rebates, xeriscape retrofits, public education, rate structures) are most effective for water providers with certain customer profiles. For example, if water customers are primarily Snow Birds, how can a utility best encourage them to save water during their winter stay.
Water CASA also is about to embark on a residential graywater reuse study. This will provide valuable data about residential use of graywater and determine whether health risks increase with graywater use.