[Vision2020] Water: willing to conserve but can't afford to

[Mark Solomon]

It's not older homes that are at issue as much as some of the first 
models of low flush toilets just weren't designed well enough. I just 
installed one in our house in town (very much an older house with 
known roots in the pipes issues) and it works great. Has a half flush 
option at 0.8 gallons/use. See a similar model at the Natural Abode 
in beautiful and vibrant downtown Moscow.

m.

At 2:58 PM -0700 4/25/06, Nils Peterson wrote:
>Tom Ivey illustrates at least one type of person who would occupy the middle
>position in my "Where do you stand" thread: willing, but unable.
>
>Thanks for the lawn-related suggestions. They sound cost effective.
>
>The toilet upgrade plan discussed earlier, if funded by new water users as I
>offered, might work for Ivey. He would get a new throne and the feel good
>from saving water, with no cash outlay.
>
>My wife points out that she has heard there is an issue for some older homes
>whose plumbing does not work well with low flow... We are guessing that
>things just don't move along well with less water.
>
>So, the City's program would need a means to evaluate a home for being a
>candidate to participate. Not much different than the phone company
>investigating if you can have DSL.
>
>So, what we have here is a voluntary program that saves water, at no cost to
>the would-be saver, and transfers the savings of water to a would-be new
>water user when they get a building permit.
>
>What is missing to put this into action?
>1. Deciding to adopt and become strict about adhering to the PBAC water
>budget.
>2. Building the mechanism to swap the toilets (or other conservation
>measures)
>3. Securing funding for #2.
>
>Anything missing?
>Does this list have the political will to support this idea?
>How would you go about selling it (or defeating it)?
>
>
>On 4/25/06 10:06 AM, "vision2020-request at moscow.com"
><vision2020-request at moscow.com> wrote:
>
>>  In regards to the last issue "where do you stand":  I want to conserve.  But
>>  it costs me more to conserve than I can afford.  The cheapest rain barrel I
>>  can find is $100 plus shipping, I need at least 4 of them. I don't have the
>>  money to purchase a new front load washer and would have a hard time
>>  justifying it without an old broken one.  I can't afford to put in 
>>a sprinkler
>>  system (I would love to have one).  Sure, I got a 3% increase in pay this
>>  year, but my groceries, gasoline, clothing, health care insurance, and
>>  basically all consumables have increased this year by more than 3%.  I pay
>>  twice as much for water as my counter parts in southern Idaho.  And I just
>>  found out I will have to pay out $4000 on braces for a child. 
>>What do you do?
>>  Where do you start?  I have low flush toilets and a water saver shower head
>>  (you can get that shower head free from the city!).  What else can I do?