Water: How important is it to you?

For the majority of us in Asheville, water is one of those things we expect to be available when we need it. In Asheville we are truly blessed with some of the best freshwater in the county; at least until it leaves the reservoirs that is. Even after treatment it is still ranked pretty high the water quality index. We don't think much about it until something occurs (water line breaks and such) that temporarily removes the luxury we are accustomed to. I use the word luxury intentionally because it is just that, even though we don't think of it that way. We have become very reliant on quick, easy, consistent access to clean water; so much so that we don't think about how integrated water is in our daily lives. Believe me, everything you do during the course of your day is in someway reliant on this natural resource. I'm not talking about the obvious things like drinking, showering & bathing, personal waste removal, washing clothes dishes, cooking and cleaning. Water is so much more to our lives than we think about; water makes everything we do possible!!!

Here are a few examples

How Many Gallons of Water does it take to make . . .

..A car: It takes an estimated 39,090 gallons of water to make a car. It's unclear if that includes the more 2,000 gallons used to make its tires--each tire takes 518 gallons to make.

One Pair of Jeans: Takes around 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to produce just one pair of regular ol' blue jeans.

One Barrel of Beer: 32 gallons requires 1,500 gallons of water.

One To-Go Latte: Takes 53 gallons to make every latte.

One Gallon of Paint: Takes 13 gallons of water to make.

One Ton of...                                                               

Steel: 62,000 gallons of                                          

Cement: 1,360 gallons

One Pound of . . .                                                 

Wool: 101 gallons

Cotton: 101 gallons

Plastic: 24 gallons

Synthetic Rubber: 55 gallons

Note: In general these figures have been derived from work done by Waterfootprint.org and represent gallons of water consumed per pound of food (except for beverages, in which case the volumes are listed). They represent global averages, not conditions specific to any one place.

Per pound Fruits, Vegetables & Grains:

Lettuce -- 15 gallons

Tomatoes -- 22 gallons

Cabbage -- 24 gallons

Cucumber -- 28 gallons                        

Potatoes -- 30 gallons

Oranges -- 55 gallons

Apples -- 83 gallons

Bananas -- 102 gallons

Corn -- 107 gallons

Peaches or Nectarines -- 142 gallons

Wheat Bread -- 154 gallons

Mango -- 190 gallons

Avocado -- 220 gallons

Tofu -- 244 gallons                                              

Groundnuts -- 368 gallons

Rice -- 403 gallons

Olives -- 522 gallons

Chocolate -- 2847 gallons

Meat & Dairy

This is where water intensity really starts increasing. If you want to reduce the water footprint of your diet, this is where you want to really cut back:

                                                                       

Eggs -- 573 gallons

Chicken -- 815 gallons

Cheese -- 896 gallons

Pork -- 1630 gallons

Butter -- 2044 gallons

Beef -- 2500-5000 gallons (Global figures for the water intensity of beef vary so significantly that an average isn't particularly informative, so a range of figures is given)

Beverages

Tea (8oz) -- 7 gallons

Beer, barley (8oz) -- 36 gallons

Coffee (8oz) -- 29 gallons

Wine (8oz) -- 58 gallons

Maybe if we pay more attention to how relevant water is in our everyday lives we'll be less wasteful of all the things it provides us, including good health.

AP







www.AskAquaPro.com
AquaPro@AskaquaPro.com 

www.AquaProSolutions.com 
www.AquaEnvi.org,  
www.AshevilleGreenPlumbing.com,
 

AskAsheville - Asheville Twitter - Asheville Blog -
Asheville Videos - Asheville Social Media

Consumer skeptisism; The biggest hurdle for new toilet standards.

AQUA ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE CENTER UNVEILS PORTABLE MaP TEST STATION AT ASHEVILLE FACILITY. 

The AERC of Asheville has begun independent performance evaluations on popular new toilet models. We want to help promote these devices because of the positive impacts they will have on helping to preserve our fresh water resources around the world; but we also want to be certain consumers have a positive experience with the products they buy. The industry has a chance to correct it's mistakes of the past and improve their image in the community; I hope they get it right.
 
HET's or High Efficiency Toilets are becoming the norm in the industry. For a toilet to qualify for the HET labeling it must meet a maximum performance (MaP) test developed by the EPA requiring toilets to use 1.28 gallons of water or less per flush.
 
After implementation of Federal mandates the early 1990's and the introduction of low consumption 1.6gpf toilet's, consumers remain skeptical of these performance standards. As a Plumbing Contractor I remember very well the debacle with the first rounds of low consumption toilets in the 90's and consumers tend to have long memories when it comes to things they don't like. Almost 15 years after I still hear it every time I try to convince a customer that it's time to switch to a more water efficient toilet; "no thanks, I don't want to plunge my toilet every time I take a dump". It is one of the most difficult sells for a plumber to make. Consumer dissatisfaction with the performance of one of the most intimate fixtures in our homes, still plagues the industry.
 
“The AERC is not an official EPA MaP testing facility, we are doing this entirely on behalf of the consumers in our community; with no bias to the outcome of test results except to provide people with honest results they can trust and experience for themselves. We've opened the AERC to help inform and advise our community. There are a lot of good folks out there that want to do everything they can to help protect our environment and preserve the quality of fresh water resources in the region, but they also can't afford to spend money on things that don't function well or won't hold up in under real world everyday use. 

With that in mind we do these tests a little differently at the AERC. The standard MaP test has placed strict standards on the procedure used for evaluation. The test medium is a soy paste enclosed in a latex sleeve. Each piece is required to meet specific length, diameter and weight standards; 4" long, 3/4" diameter, 50 grams. Toilets are evaluated on how many pieces they successfully flush on a consistent basis. This works fine for general evaluation, but in my opinion doesn't really represent how things work behind the closed doors of our real world bathrooms. No two poops are the same; we test toilets with this in mind. See for yourself what I mean in the video below.
 

The AERC of Asheville is located at 46 New Leicester Hwy. The center is open to the public and encourages people to come down a see for themselves how things work and what options they have for improving water efficiency & energy conservation in their homes and places of businesses.
Come on down, lets get our hand wet and have some fun learning about water conservation & water quality. 

Contact the Aqua Environmental Resource Center at (828) 236-5980

AP

AquaPro@AskAquaPro.com  


www.AquaEnvi.org
www.AskAquaPro.com
www.AquaProSolutions.com
www.AshevilleGreenPlumbing.com

AskAsheville - Asheville Twitter - Asheville Blog -

Asheville Videos - Asheville Social Media

Asheville Water Experts - AquaPro Solutions

Hello, I am Chris Hanson; Founder of AquaPro Solutions LLC, Founder H2O Easy Water Quality Products, Volunteer Dir of Education @ AERC.


AquaPro Solutions LLC (APS); Parent company of H2O Easy water Quality Products, Aqua Environmental resource Center (AERC), and Asheville Green Plumbing (AGP) on 46 New Leicester Hwy, Asheville, NC.

The key people involved in this business are:
Kelly Hanson, CEO AquaPro Solutions LLC, Jason Rector, Dir of Sales AquaPro Solutions, Davie Robinson Dir of Operations AquaPro & General Manager Asheville Green Plumbing, Peter Bartolomeo Service Manager Asheville Green Plumbing

-AquaPro Solutions LLC and current division therein are the culmination of 18 years of plumbing and water quality service to the Asheville community. We started business in the WNC area in 1991. My favorite things about Asheville and WNC are cultural diversity, beauty and sanctity of these ancient mountains. Asheville and WNC is home for my family; and I think it always will be. AquaPro’s primary goal is to provide for and help improve our community

Businesses in Asheville or WNC that you regularly network with and why:
1. G Social Media for building business relationships.
2. Asheville Chamber of Commerce for building community relationships.

Twenty years ago a local business man that had been in business in Weaverville for 25 years took a chance on my intensions, sold me his business; That was the launching point for what we are today.

The top 3 products we offer and/or sell at our business are:
-Water conservation & efficiency products & services,
- Water filtration & conditioning products
- Environmentally conscious plumbing services

We also provide Community education and awareness services.

AquaPro Solutions LLC
Divisions of: Aqua Environmental Resource Center
H2O Easy Water Quality Products
Asheville Green Plumbing
APS- Water Conservation, Purification & Management Products & Solutions
AGP- Plumbing Today For A Better Tomorrow
AERC- Preservation Through Education
H2O Easy- You Know The Waters Clean
AskAquaPro blog- Because Water Matters

46 New Leicester Hwy, Asheville, NC 28806

Website: http://www.aquaprosolutions.com/
Website: http://www.ashevillegreenplumbing.com/
Website: http://www.h2oeasy.com/
Website: http://www.aquaenvi.org/
Blog- http://www.askaquapro.com/

Email: info@aquaprosolutions.com
Email: AquaPro@AquaEnvi.org
Email: AquaPro@AskAquaPro.com
Email: info@AshevilleGreenPlumbing.com
Phone #: 828-255-0772


AskAsheville - Asheville Twitter - Asheville Blog -
Asheville Videos - Asheville Social Media

Catastophic Failure of Asheville Water Line?

Are sections of Asheville's 130 year old water distribution system at risk of a catastrophic failure? Although it is possible it is highly unlikely.
I have received several inquiries in response to a post from a couple weeks ago so it seems a follow up would be appropriate. The chronic water main leak that was the topic of my blog post seems to have raised some concerns about the condition of the system. The attached video is of my most recent inspection on February 19, 2010.
 
As reported in my initial post this leak has been reoccurring over at least a six year period that I have been aware of it. At times the leak has been significantly greater than its current rate of approximately 200,000 gallons per year. As you can see in the video it has leaked aggressively enough and long enough to have eroded away a section of the earthen bank and large root structure of a tree directly in the spray path of the leak.  

The original water system in Asheville dates from the 1880s when Asheville constructed a reservoir on Beaucatcher Mountain, collecting water from various springs and branches. Pipes were laid and unfiltered water distributed by gravity flowed down into the town. The distribution system currently consists of approximately 1600 miles of piping, 32 pumping stations and 27 reservoirs. Some sections of the system are indeed very old. The leak that I refer to is from an exposed joint in a section of 24" diameter cast iron pipe with Lead packed joints. This is one of three primary transmission lines that feed from either the North Fork or Beetree reservoir.

Although Asheville water maintenance is aware of the leak and responds quickly to reports of an increase in the flow rate, repairs typically only last than a few weeks to a couple months.
This is by no means a unique condition. The probability of water distribution infrastructure failure is a growing concern throughout the country. I can assure that this leak in the Swannanoa valley is not the only one on the Asheville system nor is it the worst leak. It is however, visible; and thereby presents a consistent reminder of the need for greater attention to a very real problem that is not typically on the minds of most people.

Asheville has an annual budget of 5.8 million dollars for water system maintenance and improvements. The budget funds are derived from taxes and fees charged to commercial and residential water customers.

This past fall I had an opportunity to visit with Mayor Bellamy while attending the grand opening celebration of the Aqua Environmental Resource Center in West Asheville. Mayor Bellamy is a strong advocate for improving water efficiency throughout the region. I look forward to working with her further in developing community awareness programs.

Repairing the leak in Swannanoa would be quite an undertaking to say the least. I'd like to think this leak will be corrected in the near future, but after six years of monitoring, it doesn't seem to be a priority. I hope it doesn't take a catastrophic failure to become one. 

AP

www.AskAquaPro.com
AquaPro@AskaquaPro.com 

AskAsheville - Asheville Twitter - Asheville Blog -
Asheville Videos - Asheville Social Media