LeakBird

(April 22, 2009, GlobeAndMail)
“We have to say kudos to the province for recognizing our rivers face challenges from withdrawal,” he says. But it also brings challenges for towns like his that rely on rivers for water. For most of the last decade, Okotoks has been Canada’s second fastest-growing municipality and expects to add another 9,000 [...]

I don’t think you can get away with putting your talents in a toilet bowl and not having them flushed away.
Sean Penn
If something can go wrong, it will.
Murphy’s Law
Whether it’s talent, water or cash flows, if they’re in the toilet bowl chances are one hundred percent they’ll get flushed away. And when it comes to [...]

(April 5, 2009, The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Two years ago, while metro Atlanta’s drought burned through the record book, Karin Guzy of east Cobb turned off her in-ground sprinkler system.
It hasn’t been on since.
Instead, she waters her garden from two 250-gallon water cisterns. The large buckets easily fill from light rain collected off her roof.
Guzy doesn’t [...]

(April 2, 2009, The New York Times)
For about a mile, a steady stream of water flows down Bear Canyon before finally petering out in the sand near a golf course. The arroyo is not supposed to be wet this time of year; the spring snowmelt does not usually occur until later in the season. But [...]

(March 5, 2009, The Sacramento Bee)
Sacramento leaders on Tuesday said the city’s enormous thirst for water does not mesh with its Earth-friendly aspirations, and vowed to change.
In a workshop on water conservation, a majority of the Sacramento City Council said aggressive new policies are needed to save water. This may include stronger enforcement of water [...]

(March 5, 2009, The San Francisco Chronicle)
The ongoing struggles of managing California’s limited water supply to support our cities, farms and natural environment are well known. As we face what some are calling one of the worst droughts in California history, we must all learn to conserve water wherever possible. Just as the Bay Area [...]

(Feb. 27, 2009, Kelly Zito, The San Francisco Chronicle)
The company has a gallery in New York’s tony SoHo district; one of it’s recent releases is named “Gwyneth”; it has near-cult status among the eco-affluent (and Google).
We’re talking about a toilet here.
Specifically, the Toto toilet – a water-efficient commode made by Japanese company founded in 1917.
The [...]

 
One only need flip open their local weekly to come across countless, sometimes useful ways and means to save water, go green, reduce energy — let’s admit, thou shalt conserve is the eleventh commandment.
Often times, the toilet is mentioned once or twice, but usually in passing.  Hence, I thought it might be useful to create [...]

Chris Brown wrote a post on the economics of water for the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, in which he argues that water shortages wouldn’t exist in a free market. To put it another way, with government intervention, water shortages are virtually guaranteed.  I happen to agree with Mr. Brown, however, it’s easier to acknowledge what [...]

(Feb. 23, 2009, David Zetland, Aguanomics)
I’m thinking that the water managers and politicians in San Diego must be drinking something other than simple, tasty water. It seems that they are bound and determined to implement the most-stupid possible water rationing scheme, i.e.,
Even San Diegans who have torn out their lawns, planted drought-tolerant landscaping and scrimped [...]

(Nov. 18, 2008, PerthNow)

HOUSEHOLDERS would be charged for each flush under a radical new toilet tax designed to help beat the drought.
The scheme would replace the current system, which sees sewage charges based on a home’s value – not its waste water output.
CSIRO Policy and Economic Research Unit member Jim McColl and Adelaide University Water [...]

(Feb. 14, 2009, ApartmentSearch.com)
A water bill can easily drip away your hard-earned savings if you’re not paying attention. Saving on your water bill isn’t just the green living thing to do; it also saves you money. Reducing your water usage can be simple and painless.
Unlike your electric bill, gas bill or trash bill, your water [...]

(Feb. 12, 2009, The Miami Herald)

South Florida, where millions of homeowners still are confined to twice-weekly lawn sprinkling, is using a lot less water these days.
The decline stems in large part from tough water restrictions that the South Florida Water Management District will consider making permanent Thursday, and a tougher economy that has emptied [...]

(Feb. 7, 2009, BND.com)
Q: I find it amusing how everyone is so excited about the cost of gas for their cars when it goes up a few cents, but don’t seem to care much about rising home water costs. I pulled some old bills recently and I’m now paying more than double what I did [...]

(Feb. 6, 2009, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Water conservation amounts differ
The director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division told state lawmakers Thursday that metro Atlanta could save up to a third of the water it uses with aggressive and expensive conservation measures.
Metro Atlanta’s water planners have been less ambitious. In a draft conservation plan, they’re shooting for a [...]

(Feb. 6, 2009, China View)
Beneath a cloudless blue sky, the withered wheat grass barely 2 inches high slumped over gray, parched ground in Wei Liuding’s field.
A mere spark would set the field alight at this time of the year when the field should be green.
“I haven’t seen such a severe [...]

(Jan. 20, 2009, Aquafornia)
From the O.C. Register:
As a crucial part of a citywide conservation initiative, Orange officials are having waterless urinals installed. The installation of 49 waterless urinals at 14 city facilities is underway; they are expected to save nearly two million gallons of water each year.
The urinals, installed by Falcon Waterfree Technologies, will be [...]

(Nov. 9, 2008, San Jose-Mercury News)

Six months into the seawater desalination pilot test program, the Santa Cruz Water Department and Soquel Creek Water District opened the doors to the facility and allowed about 100 curious residents a glimpse Saturday.
Visitors reviewed information about desalination technology and water supply issues within the community, toured the facility and [...]

(Oct. 28, 2008, San Diego Union-Tribune)
Water districts in more urban areas of the county such as San Diego, Encinitas and Del Mar made big strides to reduce their use of tap water over the summer.
But increased conservation by residents and businesses in those communities was essentially offset by rural districts, where farmers didn’t conserve [...]