Clean Water Blog

Do you know how much water you use each day? Take the Water Audit below and find out! This tool will take you through a series of questions about the most common things we use water for and at the end you will find out your typical water use. You will also find a list of ways to conserve water. Start saving today and we will be adding up the savings from around the state!

The Freshwater Society has a Water Audit Curriculum for teachers with an online tool for students. To get the curriculum and find out more, click below.  

Information provided by the June Freshwater Society Newsletter.  For more information email, freshwater@freshwater.org.

To draw attention to the value and importance of lakes and reservoirs, North American Lakes Management Society (NALMS) sponsors an annual Lakes Appreciation Month. This is a true North American event. As such, it is intended to be celebrated throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The celebration typically coincides with Independence Day (July 4) in the U.S. and with Canada Day (July 1) in Canada. Both of these holidays provide people with the opportunity to get out and enjoy lakes.

Information provided by the Freshwater Society

MORRIS, Minn. (6/2010) — Do you enjoy learning about the natural world? If so, consider becoming a Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteer! St. John’s Arboretum, Collegeville, Minnesota is hosting a Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer Training beginning July 6th, 2010 and will be held two nights a week for 6 weeks.

Master Naturalist volunteers complete a 40-hour hands-on class with expert instructors and fellow learners – studying natural history, environmental interpretation, and conservation stewardship. Final certification comes with the completion of 40 hours of volunteer service. The program offers three classes that correspond to Minnesota’s three major ecosystems – entitled ‘Big Woods, Big Rivers’, ‘Prairies and Potholes’, and ‘Northwoods, Great Lakes’. This class will cover the natural and cultural history of the ‘Prairies and Potholes’ Region. We will provide an in-depth overview of the Prairie Ecosystem. Through the class, participants will develop their ability to observe nature and will learn tools to improve these skills. In addition, participants will improve their communication skills by sharing knowledge with other participants and working on a group project.

The classes will be held every Tuesdays & Thursdays from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM from July 6th, 2010 through August 10, 2010. Two Saturday field trips will be on July 24th and July 31st. The cost for the class is $200, including materials. Register on-line at www.MinnesotaMasterNaturalist.org, call 1.888.241.4532, or e-mail info@minnesotamasternaturalist.org.

Minnesota Master Naturalist is sponsored by the University of Minnesota Extension Service and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. . Minnesota Master Naturalist is supported, in part, by grant ESI-0540358 from the National Science Foundation.

Did you miss the Central Minnesota Water Education Alliance rain barrel sale?

Did you know that 2/3 of Minnesota residents get their drinking water from surface water resources.  The cities of St. Cloud, Minneapolis and St. Paul all draw their drinking water from the Mississippi River.  Nationally over 18 million people rely on surface water for their drinking water supplies. 

To help protect surface and groundwater resources from contamination, follow these simple tips:

1. Don’t overuse pesticides or fertilizers as they can travel through stormwater runoff into surface waters as well as infiltrate through soils and contaminate ground water.

2. Dispose of used motor oil properly. One quart of motor oil can contaminate more than 250,000 gallons of water.

3. Use laundry and dishwasher detergents that are phosphate-free to save our lakes and rivers.

4. Join in a beach, stream, or wetlands cleanup project.

5. Properly dispose of prescription medications and other products that are too often flushed down the toilet, into the wastewater system and out to the environment.

For more information on water protection tips visit the Central MN Water Education Alliance (CMWEA) website at:  www.mnwaterconnection.com.

The Water Resources Center developed “A Pocket Guide to Reducing Your Water Footprint.”  The guide is available on their website, www.wrc.umn.edu and was inspired by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Water pocket guides.  The guide aims to make conserving water simple— something all of us can do each day, whether in the kitchen, in the bathroom, or out shopping for dinner. Based on the idea that lots of small changes can make a big difference over time, the guide explains the concept of a water footprint and offers simple, consumer-friendly ways to make smart water choices on a daily basis. The guide offers simple tips like keeping a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator to avoid running the tap for cold water, or choosing a commercial car wash that recycles water over washing your car in the driveway. It also busts popular myths on the topics of tap versus bottled water and antibacterial soap versus plain soap and water.

To usher in the outdoor season, Water Smart Peel offers a number of tips to help residents use resources responsibly so that lawns and gardens stay healthy this summer.

Even when forecasts anticipate below average precipitation, that doesn’t mean lawns require above average watering.  Applying too much water to a lawn leads to shallow roots, which makes it easier for pests and weeds to grow.  To keep grass healthy, apply only a half inch of water twice a week.  

To maximize water absorption, water lawns and gardens before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.  Early or late watering also promotes healthy root growth and avoids evaporation.  Adjust sprinklers to avoid unnecessary watering of walkways, driveways, sidewalks and streets.

And don’t worry about lawns turning brown in the summer - it’s a natural defence kicking in and there’s no need to over-water.  Lawns will rejuvenate and return to green once it rains and the weather cools. During an extensive drought - three weeks of heat and no rain - give your lawn a deep soaking in the early morning hours to provide a helping hand until the rain returns.  

When mowing, leave grass clippings on the lawn; it provides moisture and is a natural fertilizer for lawns.  Also mow high (2-3 in.) to help lawns retain moisture and crowd out weeds, and keep mower blades sharp to allow grass to recover faster.

What’s the true cost of bottled water?

The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day) employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industrys attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call to take back the tap, not only by making a personal commitment to avoid bottled water, but by supporting investments in clean, available tap water for all.

Production partners on the bottled water film include five leading sustainability groups: Corporate Accountability International, Environmental Working Group, Food & Water Watch, Pacific Institute, and Polaris Institute.

Watch The Story of Bottle Water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se12y9hSOM0

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program offers low to no-cost energy-efficient cooling tips to beat the heat.  A typical household spends almost 20 percent of its utility bill on cooling, and by taking steps this summer to improve energy efficiency, you can save energy, save money and help fight climate change.  Try these simple tips to start saving today:  

No-Cost

• Program your thermostat to work around your family’s summer schedule—set it a few degrees higher (such as 78 degrees) when no one is home, so your cooling system isn’t cooling an empty house. With proper use, programmable thermostats can save you about $180 a year in energy costs.
• Check your HVAC system’s air filter every month. If the filter looks dirty, change it, but change the filter at least every three months. A dirty filter will slow air flow and make the system work harder to keep you cool, wasting energy.
• Run your ceiling fan to create a cool breeze. If you raise your thermostat by only two degrees and use your ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent. Remember that ceiling fans cool you, not the room, so when you leave the room make sure to turn off the fan.
• Pull the curtains and shades closed before you leave your home to keep the sun’s rays from overheating the interior of your home. If you can, move container trees and plants in front of sun-exposed windows to serve as shade.

Low-Cost

• Remember to have your HVAC system serviced annually to ensure it’s running at optimum efficiency for money and energy savings.
• Swap out incandescent bulbs with more energy-efficient lighting choices. Energy Star qualified lighting not only uses less energy, it also produces about 75 percent less heat than incandescent lighting, so cooling bills will be reduced, too.
• Seal your air ducts. As much as 20 percent of the air moving through your home’s duct system is lost due to leaks and poor connections. Seal duct work using mastic sealant or metal tape and insulate all the ducts that you can access (such as those in attics, crawlspaces, unfinished basements, and garages).
• Make sure that connections at vents and registers are well-sealed where they meet floors, walls, and ceilings. These are common locations to find leaks and disconnected ductwork.

Other Tips ·         When buying a room air conditioner, look for one that has earned EPA’s Energy Star. If every room air conditioner in the