Drought Impacting New Mexico Early

Here it is January 31st and water restrictions have already been put in place in Las Vegas, New Mexico. That seems unheard of, but then again we have already had fires in the southwest, in DECEMBER!

I am originally from Michigan and we had seasons, like deer season, or duck season, not FIRE season. According to the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico has only received 11% of its usual precipitation for the last two months of 2005. The early part of 2005 saw lots of snow and rain but right now our snow pack is very low and cities like Las Vegas that depend on snow pack to feed their water sheds are having to restrict water use.

The first violation is just a warning, strike two and you can get a fine up to $150, strike three and they turn off your water. You can't be trusted to use the water wisely. Sounds reasonable to me.... perhaps a rain barrel or two from Arid Solutions Inc. would be good for when it does rain or to save some household greywater...just a thought.

New Mexico
rain barrels
water restrictions
drought
Albuquerque Journal

Rainwater Harvesting Guide

In my search for good information online I came across this Rainwater Harvesting Guide online. The funny thing is I have given out dozens of copies of these at events over the last couple years. I was not aware it had been put in PDF form online. The publication was written several years ago by the City of Albuquerque. Arid Solutions Inc. rain barrels are not shown or listed. The publication is too old. Oh, well. It can help get a person started and thinking about what they can do to plan a rainwater harvesting set up. Good luck! and let me know if I can help.
rain barrels
Rainwater Harvesting
sustainability
water conservation

It's Not Easy Being Green

We recently purchased a home in Albuquerque that we have been remodeling in as "green" a way possible. We are working under various handicaps and time constraints. That is another story.

Anyway, I have given this a lot of thought but I wonder just how good a job I could be doing when the employees at two different dumps now recognize me! If I am finding that much stuff to contribute to the landfill, how much are people throwing away who don't give it any thought at all!

Well here are some the changes we have made to this house:
Tankless Gas Hot Water Heater
Shower Flow Adjuster
Low Flow Toilets
All new plumbing insulated
Water Heater within 30ft of all bathrooms and kitchen
Motion Sensor Outdoor Lighting
Energy Star Light Fixtures, and replacement bulbs
Front Loading Clothes Washer
Coming----
Rain Barrels
Gravity Feed drip irrigation
Greywater irrigation
Permeable driveway
Composter....and whatever else I might come up with!

As the saga continues I'll keep updating.
rain barrels
green remodeling
Albuquerque
water conservation

It's Not Only "Green" People Who Care About Saving Water

A couple years ago when I first designed my rain barrel and was first bringing it to market I spent some time with a CPA I knew. He was not keen on my business plan and told me only "green" people would be interested in buying the rain barrels. Needless to say, I didn't agree and went on to pursue my idea. The business is now located at www.aridsolutionsinc.com.

Around that same time I had another conversation with a relative. As I spoke, with enthusiasm of course, she began to laugh. I stopped and asked what was so funny. "You're just so excited about all this!" she said covering her mouth trying to control her laughter. Well, she was right. I was, and still am excited about all this. And I beg anyone taking on such a task to be nothing less.

Water conservation is not a laughing matter and trying to get a product to market takes a good set of giblets, especially if you weren't born with them.

Water conservation can no longer be just for "green" people. According to the Washington Update Section of Water World, the results of the National Urban Water Resources Survey revealed that of the 414 mayors questioned 40% of them did not expect their cities to have adequate water supplies in 20 years.

Not having enough water for your city is no laughing matter. People without rain barrels will be green,....with envy.
rain barrels
water conservation
sustainability
water resources