Water is one of the most important natural resources we have. Our bodies run from it, our homes couldn't run without it, and our world depends upon it. In places like New Mexico where the heat can be overwhelming at certain times during the year, water shortages are nothing to laugh about. There are several tips that home owners can dive into that will help to save this resource for everyone in the state and keep the droughts to a minimum.
One of the first things to do, which may be hard for people to want to do, is to reduce the lawn space. No one likes having a small lawn, but at the same time it would be worse to have no water than to have no lawn. Lawns use mass amounts of water to be maintained and are truly nothing more than a habit - bad habit in areas of little to no rainfall like New Mexico. Originally lawns were used for playing not for decoration, and a child won't care if the lawn is perfectly maintained. If there is no way to reduce lawn space, there is a new resource available. They have recently come out with irrigation systems for your yard that actually save water. This is something that is definitely worth looking into if landscaping is not something you can give up.
Another thing that takes up quite a bit of water in landscaping is plants that are not native to the soil. Anything that has grown within the soil by itself is using the nutrients within the ground to support itself, it needs nothing extra. By planting all of these foreign plants in the ground they are consuming more of your natural resources and helping to create a drought within your yard, which is why you need to water them so much. Native plants have plenty of beauty and need not be overshadowed by foreigners.
Another thing that is a wonderful new resource is these new low flush toilets. One flush of a regular toilet is equivalent to the amount of water some people in foreign countries are allotted within the entire day! But the new low flush toilets can conserve almost half of the water that you otherwise would have flushed down the drain, saving you money and resources at the same time.
Then there's always the time honored trick of not letting the water run when you don't need it. Examples are when brushing teeth and when doing the dishes. Minimal water uses are hard to imagine sometimes in today's society but be reminded that for years people did not have free flowing water that was unlimited and easily accessible. And when they didn't have it, they didn't need it.
In the summer when it's the hottest we tend to use the most water. Like when washing our cars and leaving the sprinklers on for obsessive amounts of time. It's always been fun to get a big bucket of water and wash the car by hand, plus it gives you more time outside. And the best part is, that when you are done you can use the water to put back into the ground, which, in return will help your lawn to grown without over using your sprinkler.
If we take all of these little tips into consideration, New Mexico could become a wet resources could create a nice cool down all year round.
Samantha Kleiner writes about floods and water damage problem. See:
http://www.localwaterremoval.com/New_Mexico
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