Water, as a plumber it comes as no surprise that I think about it quite a bit. As a matter of fact I have been thinking about it a lot lately. The lack of it in certain parts of the country have me really concerned. Turning on my faucet and not having anything come out is almost inconceivable.

That seems to be the case in California these days and why the news does not pay more attention or devote more time to this is beyond me. A few years back there was another troubling drought situation in Georgia which seems to have corrected itself, thankfully. Recently the PIVOT Network just had a lot of programming around World Water Day.

Here in the greater Boston area there seems to be ample supply of water. Seven feet of snow and a very slow melt hopefully will replenish the reservoirs and aquifers for the upcoming summer. But looking at it from a plumbers point of view it is a commodity that is taken for granted.

When looking at California I become concerned that over the next fifty years this may happen here but more importantly it is an issue that will pit people against other people. Water wars seem like something out of the old west but if some have it and some do not, then watch out. We need to, at a time when we can, try to come up with ways to save water.

Plumbers Local 12 is a leader in water reuse technology. Our plumbers and apprentices receive hands on training in water re-use technology in our state of the art training facility. The Greater Boston area has numerous locations where plumbers have installed these water saving technologies. We have buildings that recover rainwater and reuse it for the flushing of toilets and irrigation. we also have full sewage treatment systems that employ grey water for some of the same purposes. At Gillette Stadium and Mall one such systems exits. as a mater of fact i have always suspected that this system would be used also as a source of water to help economic development near the stadium.

As we see the installation of these system increase one has to wonder when these types of reuse systems will be used in single family homes. it is my understanding that in places like Australia, where drought has been an issue, that many individual homes have at minimum a rainwater collection system. Did anyone know that for every inch of rain that falls on a one thousand sq. ft. roof, six hundred gallons of water can be collected. Over the course of a season that can add up to a lot of water. I think it would make a lot of sense to start to encourage this. This along with many other breakthroughs in technology will provide more work in the Green Economy.

Thinking of six hundred gallons, a visual could be having almost eleven fifty-five gallon drums. To someone in California today that most likely looks like liquid gold and it should as water means life. For something as important as water the technology has been slow to come. ROI on solar thermal has lagged behind compared to the PV panels and desalinization is tremendously costly and uses much energy. As a matter of fact some plants have been built and been taken off-line as water supplies returned to certain areas. Hopefully the new one in San Diego will provide product as well as complement their existing systems when adequate supplies return.

Soon the Environmental League of Massachusetts will have something on the Boston Globe editorial page that speaks to jobs in the Green Economy. Massachusetts being somewhat of a progressive state should embrace these technologies and support solid legislation that addresses water conservation through smart energy policy.

The Plumbers Union is ready to work!