California Fights Drought With Data and Psychology, Yielding 5% Usage Reduction 362
dcblogs writes with an article about hackers using technology to mitigate the effects of drought. From the article: "California is facing its worst drought in more than 100 years, and one with no end in sight. But it is offering Silicon Valley opportunities. In one project, the East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland used customized usage reports .... that [compare] a customer's water use against average use for similar sized households. It uses a form of peer pressure to change behavior. A ... year-long pilot showed a 5% reduction in water usage. The utility said the reporting system could 'go a long way' toward helping the state meet its goal of a reducing water usage by 20% per capita statewide. In other tech related activities, the organizer of a water-tech focused hackathon, Hack the Drought is hoping this effort leads to new water conserving approaches. Overall, water tech supporters are working to bring more investor attention to this market. Imagine H2O, a non-profit, holds annual water tech contests and then helps with access to venture funding. The effort is focused on 'trying to address the market failure in the water sector,' Scott Bryan, the chief operating officer of Imagine H2O."
compare water usage with "average"? (Score:3, Insightful)
So, how long before they start redefining "average" down below the actual average so as to make even more people feel bad about themselves?
After all, it's pretty much just a line of code to reduce the value displayed under "average use" to be, well, whatever the coder wants it to be.
I have a better idea (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:flow = pressure/resistance (Score:4, Insightful)
Why not simply lower the water pressure by 10% to curb water usage?
That might be practical but it depends on geography. You might find that people in low-lying areas need a high pressure just to that the water reaches the houses on the top of the hill. Also it depends on usage - someone with a conventional shower may save water when pressure is reduced, but someone who takes a bath or had a power shower probably won't.
There is no drought in California. (Score:4, Insightful)
There is merely a shortage of raw materials (H2O) for big agriculture.
Agriculture consumes 80% of the water in California and contributes 5% of the economy. There is sufficient water in California to supply the cities 5 times over.
But before you fly-over states get all self-righteous, think about this the next time you buy fresh salad greens in January.
Re:Manufactured Crisis (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm against watering a barren blazing desert in the west trying to pretend its "farmland"
Re:flow = pressure/resistance (Score:4, Insightful)
Because building plumbing is built on the assumption that street water pressure levels are a certain figure. Decrease the water pressure and you find you have a lot of buildings in which the top floor doesn't get less water--it gets *no* water.
Re:Contest (Score:2, Insightful)
Yeah alot of ppl don't realize that residential use inside the home goes to the water treatment plant,
then back into the system. Things like lawn watering need to end though, its not practical.
Pool covers need to be made mandatory.
The top usage of water in California is agriculture, and a large portion of it is lost due to evaporation.
If they used a water method similar to wicking, they'd get much lower evaporation rates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W... [wikipedia.org]
Myself and others have said a water pipeline from the Columbia river would solve their water problems,
but I don't think they want spend that much money.
I think the non-operating desalination plants could be brought back online but power them via solar
thermal as California has plenty of that in this drought.
Also a large amount of groundwater is available, but it needs to be used at a max rate matching the
recharge rate, and no more.
The groundwater could be pumped via solar and windpower to help with long term costs.
Re:Manufactured Crisis (Score:4, Insightful)
water levels in the aquifers are down 15 to 50 feet since year 2000, not being replenished as the absurd amounts of water on the pretend "farmland" and the too-huge cities are leading to the inevitable conclusion
Re:compare water usage with "average"? (Score:2, Insightful)
I use the power and water levels I do, because I want to, and the serve my purposes in life, and I can afford to pay the levels I do.
I can't imagine myself lowering (or raising) my usage levels at all based on those others around me..??
Do people seriously keep up with the Joneses that much this day in age in everything?
Re:Reduce usage - pay more (Score:3, Insightful)
Ah, but Golf Courses are the red herring of California. It's what farmers, who are wasting massive amounts of water, like to point and scream at, to distract from the real issue - people growing shit where they have no business whatsoever growing shit. (And then shipping it to China. But that's another matter entirely.)
Meanwhile, neither golf courses or farmers will be penalized - nay, households will be put to the sword if they don't wring the drippings out of their laundry and drink them.
Amusing captcha: unionize
Re:Contest (Score:4, Insightful)
Do you think everyone should dig up all the grass and use astro turf?
Actually in a lot of New Mexico (can't speak for elsewhere), digging under your grass and "zeroscaping" is fairly popular. Looks good and takes almost no water. Of course, you might need grass out back if you want to play on your Slip-n-Slide.
Re:I have a better idea (Score:5, Insightful)
Queue the late great Sam Kinison:
You want to help world hunger? Stop sending them food. Don't send them another bite, send them U-Hauls. Send them a guy that says, "You know, we've been coming here giving you food for about 35 years now and we were driving through the desert, and we realized there wouldn't BE world hunger if you people would live where the FOOD IS! YOU LIVE IN A DESERT!! UNDERSTAND THAT? YOU LIVE IN A FUCKING DESERT!! NOTHING GROWS HERE! NOTHING'S GONNA GROW HERE! Come here, you see this? This is sand. You know what it's gonna be 100 years from now? IT'S GONNA BE SAND!! YOU LIVE IN A FUCKING DESERT! We have deserts in America, we just don't live in them, assholes!"
Re:Here in WI we're required to keep a running fau (Score:5, Insightful)
Tell me more about global warming, please.
Sure thing. [xkcd.com]
Re:Reduce usage - pay more (Score:4, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:2, Insightful)