California water rationing:50 gallons per person per day or $500 fine

[JEDIYoda]

even if you round down to 5 GMP for a non low use shower head thats still a 10 min shower and you have used all your water for the day

pretty sure the rain shower head we have is north of 10 GPM, its like a garden hose, its amazing

BS...you don`t need 10 minutes in the shower with it running.....
Hell......wet your body...lather up and rinse........

 

[JEDIYoda]

i can't possibly soap up, shampoo 2x, and rinse off in 'a few minutes'... so how about 'no'.

Then you need to be more responsible.....why shampoo 2 times??

 

[TridenT]

Why would someone need more than 50 gallons of water a day. I don't use that much water in a month with 4 people in my household?

Troll.

 

[The Stigenator]

I lived in India when we had water rationing in Madras. Trust me I can live on 50 gal a week if need be. 50 gal / a day, not a problem!

 

[iGas]

hm...an average showerhead uses 7-10GPM, that means I must blow through an average of 200 gallons a day on showers alone O_O

Where the hell did you pull that number?

At 7 f/s, 1/2 copper = 5 GPM, and 1/2 PEX = 3 GPM

However, realistic pressure at your shower head with open pipe after pressure/friction lost through pipe runs, elbows, and PRV at best would be somewhere around 4-5 f/s (5 f/s with 1/2 copper yiedd 3.6 GPM, much less with PEX. And, Uniform Plumbing Code indicated that shower head calculation is 2 fixture units or 2 GPM).

Common Household Pipe Types: Maximum Flow at 7 f/s

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/Water-Supply-Fixture-Units-d_1073.html

Californian average water usage per capital is 147-379 gallons daily pending area.

[add]
That said, IMHO Californian going to get f___ed no matter what unless by some miracle they get steady rain that replenish reservoirs ASAP.

 

[iGas]

The link I looked at said conventional =7-10gpm, efficient = 2-4gpm

http://www.wsscwater.com/home/jsp/content/water-usagechart.faces

The day I cannot take 15 minute hot showers is the day I start planning my move out of CA.




I highly doubt this bad boy only outputs 2.5GPM, if it does then that is freaking amazing:

It is highly likely that your shower head output is 2.5 GPM or less. And, if it is a low flow then it is as low as 1.5 or 1.6 GPM..

Since 1992, federal regulations have required that manufacturers produce shower heads with maximum gallons per minute (gpm) ratings of 2.5 gpm.

http://www.appropedia.org/1.6_GPM_or_less_low-flow_shower_heads

 

[iGas]

even if you round down to 5 GMP for a non low use shower head thats still a 10 min shower and you have used all your water for the day

pretty sure the rain shower head we have is north of 10 GPM, its like a garden hose, its amazing

Highly unlikely that your rain shower head water deliver is greater than 2.5 GPM, because the US Environmental Protection Agency, American Water Works Association, American Society for Testing and Materials, etc... would come down on the company that sells such a shower head so hard that they wouldn't know what hit them.

 

[Anubis]

And I grew up in Minnesota where water isn't a problem except when there's too much of it. My point is that if, you never leave your basement, you tend to think water comes out of faucets. Where do the people who live in places with drought and water shortages, think the water is going to come from? It's just plain silly to live without giving it any thought.

in LA they steal it from Mono County

 

[Texashiker]

actually you have no business being in the shower for more than a few minutes.

What someone does in the privacy of their home is none of your business.



As for the opening post, people are only part of the problem. Cities in california have created an artificial landscape. Do we think beverly hills is going to let all those palm trees die?

Didn't lady gaga recently catch some flak for emptying an Olympic size swimming pool?

HOAs / POAs still require people to water their lawn or get fined.

As long as people have theirs, screw everyone else.

 

[Chaotic42]

When will they get to the point where they stop farming in the desert with water they don't have?

 

[Texashiker]

When will they get to the point where they stop farming in the desert with water they don't have?

Where else are the farmers supposed to get cheap seasonal labor?

 

[Jaskalas]

When will they get to the point where they stop farming in the desert with water they don't have?

They've had water available for the past century, but a combination of drought, eco-kooks fighting the creation of reservoirs, and a surging (illegal) population means there's less and less available.

 

[zephyrprime]

hm...an average showerhead uses 7-10GPM, that means I must blow through an average of 200 gallons a day on showers alone O_O

I live in minnesota and my water bill was really high one time. I called to complain and I found out that the average bill was about 100/gallons a day per person. I thought this was crazy high however, I then calculated all my water usage and found that indeed, my water level was fricken high.

Where did all the water go? Running water from brushing teeth. Running water while washing dishes. Toilet flushes. Showers.

With 50 gallons a day, you will need to switch from showers to baths. Also you need to watch your toilet usage. Worth it to install dual flush systems with such stringent requirements. Swith to front load washer. Or you could just move out of the fricken desert.

 

[CPA]

actually you have no business being in the shower for more than a few minutes.....also where we live the toilets and shower fixtures have to be low flow..... 7 to 10 gpm seems really like a lot of water...

lol, i guess we will need shower police next. Thank you for telling us what we need and what we don't need, what we should do and what we shouldn't do, comrade.

 

[zephyrprime]

Where the hell did you pull that number?

At 7 f/s, 1/2 copper = 5 GPM, and 1/2 PEX = 3 GPM

However, realistic pressure at your shower head with open pipe after pressure/friction lost through pipe runs, elbows, and PRV at best would be somewhere around 4-5 f/s (5 f/s with 1/2 copper yiedd 3.6 GPM, much less with PEX. And, Uniform Plumbing Code indicated that shower head calculation is 2 fixture units or 2 GPM).

Common Household Pipe Types: Maximum Flow at 7 f/s

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/Water-Supply-Fixture-Units-d_1073.html

Californian average water usage per capital is 147-379 gallons daily pending area.

[add]
That said, IMHO Californian going to get f___ed no matter what unless by some miracle they get steady rain that replenish reservoirs ASAP.

Such calculations are unnecessary. The government limits showerheads to 2.5gpm. Really old units can run 5.5 gpm.

 

[JeepinEd]

Here are a couple of interesting links regarding water usage.

http://www.sanfranciscobay.sierraclub.org/yodeler/html/2010/05/article5.htm

According to this article, 80 percent of the water used, goes to farming, leaving 20 percent for residential. If this is correct, even if we meet the goal of reducing residential use by 20%, it really would only save 4% of total water usage (not including water that is diverted for natural habitats).

http://californiawaterblog.com/2011/05/05/water—who-uses-how-much/

 

[Ns1]

Even @ 3gpm, 30 minutes of showers a day divided by however many people is a cool 90 gallons.

I'd probably get a membership at the local gym to tax their hot water or something.

 

[Texashiker]

lol, i guess we will need shower police next. Thank you for telling us what we need and what we don't need, what we should do and what we shouldn't do, comrade.

Watering the lawn takes a lot more than taking a shower.

There was an article a couple of months ago where a POA/HOA sent a warning letter to a couple for their brown grass.

The couple received a letter from some California state water agency asking people to conserve water, so the couple stopped watering their grass. Grass turned brown, hoa threatened to fine the couple several hundred dollars.

EDIT

Found the article,

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/07/1...brown-lawn-after-complying-with-water-saving/

We would not want grass to turn brown in during a drought, right?

 

[outriding]

I figured it out and i do under 40 gallons per day. (average over the year)

I do take long showers but i have this:

http://www.amazon.com/Niagara-Earth-.../dp/B003UQ17O4

and

http://www.amazon.com/0-5-Flow-Dual-...bxgy_hi_text_y

i also have a front loading washing machine. I am in a house and water the lawn and wash my car.

50 gallons is not that hard.

 

[DrPizza]

I lived in India when we had water rationing in Madras. Trust me I can live on 50 gal a week if need be. 50 gal / a day, not a problem!

Perhaps you are not aware of cultural differences between India and the United States. In the United States, you're considered dirty and stinky if you don't shower every day.

 

[Sonikku]

Perhaps you are not aware of cultural differences between India and the United States. In the United States, you're considered dirty and stinky if you don't shower every day.

Tell it to George Carlin.

 

[Drako]

Tell it to George Carlin.

He has not showered in over 6 years. :|

 

[Attic]

50 gallons isn't much water per person. Remember, flushing the toilet a few times a day per person, a shower per day, washing dishes, washing clothes. Even little things like leaving the water running while brushing teeth adds up to a few gallons. And you'd better hope that you don't have a slowly leaking toilet. 50 gallons per day is well below average in this country.

Anyhow, until there's a reputable site...

50 gallons is too low IMO. I'd rather it be alon lines of 75gallon limit per day, with larger fines above it. Most of the water waste is not coming from typical households,.. it's coming from large homes with large yards and it's coming from golf courses and other businesses that use large amounts of water.

The 50gallon limit would hit poor/middle class in order to serve the well to do and privileged who could use well above that amount and happily pay a $500 fine.

Don't hit the poor/middle class for water waste that is not equally distributed amongst the populace. $500 fine for the well to do, even if once per month, they don't give a shit, $500 fine for the rest of us, particularly if monthly, is a big deal.



But yes, none of this is happening.

 

[Mark R]

We would not want grass to turn brown in during a drought, right?

Round here, if there is an official drought order, then you aren't permitted to water land (unless a farmer, or you have some other exemption, or your own water source).

A number of city or regional governments regularly take aerial photos, to look for residences with green lawns. If you've got a green lawn, you get a summons in the mail, and have to explain yourself to the judge.

 

[Leymenaide]

There are some major cities in California that homes do not have meters. They will have a difficult time with enforcement.
Californian is to Water as
Democrat is to entitlement.