Sunday, February 17, 2008

Water 201: Solutions

As the discussion continues, attempting to address our limited water supply in Flemington, Boro council

-has imposed water restrictions that right now are not too bothersome---no watering lawns or running sprinklers, filling up pools. These restrictions are enforceable with penalties such as fines.

Boro council also

-seeks to find new wells, and

-hopes to reduce arsenic levels and bring them into compliance with new state guidelines. This will require building treatment plants that will process our well water, and

- over the last year has plugged underground leaks.



What can we do?

Councilman Gorman suggests that we be diligent with our water usage by

-fixing our leaky faucets

-apartment dwellers also notifying their landlords about leaky faucets…if the landlord does not fix it, residents should report the leak to Boro Hall, 782- 8840.

-replacing our commodes with low water volume /high pressure commodes, and

-reporting unusual running water to Boro Hall, 782-8840. See below regarding disappearing water.

Old commodes use 4-gallons/flush and the new low volume ones use 1.6 gallons/ flush. Therefore, the low volume commodes save 2.4 gallons of water/flush. Five flushes per day saves 12 gallons of water per day, 84 gallons a week, 336 gallons a month, 4,032 gallons per year. At 5 flushes a day per each family member, a family of 4 roughly conserves 16,128 gallons a year. High pressure/ low water volume commodes are a very easy and painless way to conserve water in the Boro. They will certainly keep cost down if we do not have to buy additional water from the American Water Company. And these commodes are not very expensive and are a home improvement that will pay for themselves.

Finally we have disappearing water. This is water that pours out from leaky underground pipes and is not registered on our meters. Flemington must reduce the amount of disappearing water to 10% of its supply. Here’s how we Flemingtonians can help. Anytime you are out walking or jogging and you see a water source or flow that is not usually there, call Boro Hall immediately at 782-8840 and report it. It may be a leaky underground pipe. The water department will be alerted and investigate it. Last year Boro council began plugging underground leaks that resulted in preserving a significant amount of our water. This is an ongoing project because our pipes deteriorate over time. This is another way we can conserve our precious resource.

I believe “Gardener Supply” catalog still sells rain barrels to collect rainwater that we can use on our plants. Every little bit of conservation helps here.

For further water saving tips checkout….

http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/100ways/ne.shtml


There are other water issues that Councilman Gorman apprised me of and I will inform as we go along here. Let’s give a tip of our hats to Councilman Gorman for giving the Boro his time and his invaluable experience and expertise on these water issues. Councilman Gorman was recently inducted by the NJ State League of Municipalities into its Elected Officials Hall of Fame, marking his 20 years of service in an elected office. Councilman Gorman has served on Boro Council for 21 years. Congratulations!


Stay tuned.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Rain barrels and rain barrel DIY kits are shipped with days when ordered from www.aquabarrel.com

Unknown said...

Joan,

Did your special friend tell you how much the water rates will be going up the next billing cycle? I keep hearing the water rates are going to increase dramatically.

Did he mention that getting an exception for power washing is not available? Did you ask him how homeowners are supposed to maintain the nice look of their homes when they cannot power wash a really dirty house?

Frankly, I think I should be given a break on taxes since I cannot maintain my home to the standards I expect. It's dirty and has mold yet I was denied an exception for power washing. What gives with that?

Maybe you should take your tablet and pencil and do some real investigative work instead of assuming that hispanic students getting off a bus may be illegal.

Courier News Flemington blog said...

Thank you, Aquabarrel...do you have a price?

Unknown said...

Prices are listed on the website as several Rain Barrel Kits are offered (and of course shipping will vary too) - but a basic DIY rain barrel kit with parts and instructional CD is 31.69, DIY Plans on CD Only are for those that have a barrel and skills are $21.95 (I'm working on a virtual download version this week)
Please check out the site - as we offer very unique downspout diverters and downspout filters too.

Courier News Flemington blog said...

Once again, aquabarrel, thank you for your info and good luck.

MediumPetey said...

Mr. Gorman has been the Water Commissioner for many years, and was completely aware of the problems the water system had with regards to arsnec. He chose to do nothing, and instead opt for the more expensive solution the Borough Water Department is imposing now----ridiculous water restrictions based on nothing more than the need for water to be purchased at higher rates. Simply bad planning on his part.