Conserving water the ‘right thing to do,’ even in October

It’s nearly Halloween and the hot summer is behind us, but we’re still being asked to conserve water, as the worst drought in Washington’s recorded history lingers.

Some local residents are doing their part, like photographer Jennifer Loomis, who lives in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood.

“I used to live in East Africa and we basically were beholden to rainwater for all of our water, except [what] you could buy,” she said. “But if you bought it, you had to carry it a long ways.”

That stuck with her.

“I came to realize how much of a needed resource it is,” she said.

Now she saves water in little ways in her home.

“One of the things I do is: I have bowl of water that I wash dishes in, in my sink.” It catches the extra water and that grey water from her sink is enough to take care of all of her houseplants.

In Western Washington it may be difficult for people to grasp that the drought is still here, especially as lawns return to their lush greens. But the powers that be are worried: if we see another dry winter, the drought could extend into next summer.

Seattle, Everett, and Tacoma have been asking customers to reduce water use by 10 percent since August. And the cities are saying, please, keep it up, until heavy fall rains come.

“We’ve had some good rain in September and October but not those hearty, sustained rains we usually see about now,” said Nora Doyle, of Tacoma Water.

“The rains have helped and cold weather has helped. We’re feeling better about having water for people and fish. We just need to stretch those supplies out a little bit more until we get those heavy rains.”

Loomis also has a bucket for extra water in her shower. She dumped that, along with her baby’s bathtub water, in her garden all summer long to water her plants. She didn’t hear about the city’s request that she reduce water use by 10 percent.

“I had no idea,” Loomis said. “But I do it, anyway. I think about it a lot.”

Though Loomis was not aware, Doyle says the word is out. Overall, since the three cities made the request for people to reduce water consumption, customers have cut back by 14 percent. They’re getting the message.

“They have to be,” Doyle said. “That 14 percent isn’t from wishing, it’s from people’s actions.”

Loomis says thinking about water and making efforts to conserve, “just feels like the right thing to do.”

Some tips to save water include:

&#8226 Fix leaks
&#8226 Stop watering your lawn
&#8226 Take shorter showers
&#8226 Don’t pre-rinse dishes
&#8226 Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth