The Running Toilet Book: Chapter 1 — The Water Myth (LeakBird)

Apr.17, 2009 in Drought, Water Bills, Water Conservation, Water Management, Water Rates

Want to use more water? Pay for it.
David Zetland, Aguanomics.com

The Water Myth is the myth that we have an endless water supply, renewing itself ad infinitum. How can we not believe in this myth when even our cats can drink from the potable water in our toilet bowls, for which we pay less than a third of a penny per gallon on average?

When you think of a water shortage, what comes to mind but miles and miles of water as far as the eye can see, when you’re on the beach? Or looking down over the Great Lakes region from an airplane?

How could it be? A water shortage?

The surface of the earth is like our body in that two thirds of it is water.

Two majestic oceans embrace the United States, across whose content cut powerful rivers. The Mighty Miss, the Colorado and the Columbia, to name a few.

All this water and we can’t find a way to treat it, store it and distribute it, when we’ve conquered the moon and even sent robots to Mars?

Well, if only things were that simple.

The fact is that we have found a way to treat, store and distribute the ocean’s water. A myriad of ways, actually. However, it’s exceedingly expensive and requires a great deal of time and energy, especially if you’re in the middle of the desert, say, Las Vegas.

And the fact is that we’re sucking our aquifers dry, as well as over-burdening our rivers. What’s left is rainfall and moisture, as well as recycling and re-purposing the water we already have in use. But there are over 300 million of us in the US alone, and 2 percent of the world’s water supply is fresh water.

That’s a problem.

Another problem is that if we could all just get along, we’d have enough to go around, even in a state, such as California, which is suffering from its third year of drought. In other words, if everyone could get along, we’d have perfect water management at all levels, local, federal and state.

So what does all of this mean? Well, I think there’s one thing we can virtually say is true. Water rates will go up considerably. But how much? Of course, that’s the question.

But first, we can say that the water shortage can be attributed to three factors:

Growing population
Undervaluing scarcity
Aging infrastructure

Growing Population

With more people inhabiting the country (303,824,640 estimated as of July, 2008), the demand for water increases. This puts greater stress on the supply. It’s simple economics.

Undervaluing Scarcity

It can be said that we truly do undervalue the true scarcity of fresh water. Heck, that’s why it’s so cheap, or maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe it’s because it’s so cheap, that we undervalue it. I’m not sure I know the answer to this question. But I do know that we undervalue it and that it is cheap.

The fact is that the days of cheap water are nigh. In a city like San Francisco, water rates are scheduled to rise every July 1. And they’ll rise another 7% or 8% again this year. But of course it’s more complicated than that, because San Francisco has increasing block or tiered or graduated water rates. So the more water you use, the more you pay per gallon or cubic meter, which is 748 gallons of water. (This is the standard unit that districts use to buy and sell water.)

Aging Infrastructure

This point is more subtle than the first two. We’ve seen a lot of talk in the news about Obama’s stimulus plan, and about how much will go to rebuild America’s water delivery systems, in other words, its water infrastructure.

The reason there’s so much talk about this, is that we’re in serious trouble here. There are literally thousands of miles of rusty and leaking pipelines that need to be replaced. With an increase in demand due to growing population, this in turn puts further stress on an already aging water infrastructure. And because water is so cheap, revenues are kept low which makes it more difficult to fund the rebuilding of our nation’s water systems.

It’s a Management Problem, Stupid

We’ve already addressed this notion. But let’s put it another way. Our mismanagement of our water supply has caused a water shortage, particularly in drought-stricken areas, such as in North Carolina, Texas, Nevada and California.

So, let’s go back to the point we made before we talked about the three main reasons for the water shortage: Water rates have to and will go up.

There are a great many water districts and utilities who are mulling over the problem of raising water rates during an economic crisis, and many in fact are postponing raising rates until they absolutely have to.

Others have already put it off long enough and with the situation dire, because businesses and consumers are actually using less water due to all of the foreclosures and bankruptcies, the utilities’ revenues have all but dried up. And they absolutely must act now. And they are!

The Water Myth is another bubble in which we live, which is about to burst. And it’s actually bursting for many right now as I write this. One need only look to the protests in California by farmers, farm workers and elected officials over the federal water cutbacks which are said to be at 30 percent. “No Water, No Jobs, No Food,” read their signs.

Because water is controlled and regulated by a monopoly for the most part, prices have been kept low for decades. But one need only turn open their local newspapers or study their water bills to see that times are changing and water rates are gradually, ever so gradually, in fits and starts, rising across the board, in virtually every town and city.

If you are interested in How You Can Increase Your Cash Flows by $2,500.00 Every Year and Never Pay for High Water Bills Due to Your Tenants’ Running Toilets, sign up for our Free Report here.

Abendigo Reebs is the VP of Business Development for LeakBird Industries LLC in San Francisco, CA. He may be reached at by email at jordan@leakbird.com

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