Home and business water use in California by 2030 will likely look very different than it does today. Demand for water will have far exceeded current supplies for numerous years.
Emerging from necessity and economics, there will be a convergence of technology, governance and human perspective that will redefine how we use water. People will have stopped using the term "waste water" and replaced it with "resource water." Let's step into a future home and see what it might look like.
Starting in the kitchen, we notice a foot pedal to operate the kitchen faucet flow. No more repeatedly wasting small amounts of water while we move our hands to turn the water off. Just lift your foot off the pedal. There are still little knobs to adjust the temperature.
You notice that there is no water-guzzling garbage disposal. Composting has become as common as recycling tin cans. We all have been told that there is no such thing as food waste -- only future soil.
That credit-card size device magnetically attached to the refrigerator indicates our water usage for the entire home the data is transmitted from the water meter. A red light blinks if we are exceeding our daily "water budget" and a purple light indicates if a leak is detected.
The toilet looks similar, but you can tell it is different. The toilet of the future uses no water; incineration burning at a high temperature is the mode of human waste disposal. Incineration became necessary not only to deal with the water shortage, but too many pharmaceutical drugs were entering the waste-stream with no way to remove them. Also, discharge flows to the sanitary sewers had diminished to the point due to water conservation that the remaining sewer water could not transport the human solid waste.
While taking a shower you notice the flow is a lot less than in the "old" days, but the spray is acceptable. You appreciate that the water is immediately hot and no cold water was wasted -- all homes have hot water recirculation systems that provide hot water on demand.
Every time you step out from beneath the showerhead, the water stops flowing out. Showers are now equipped with a laser or footpad sensor that eliminates the shower water running when not needed.
Oh yeah, the lavatory sink facet also has a foot pedal like in the kitchen. From a hygienic point of view, people wonder why foot pedals weren't used a long time ago.
Just outside the laundry room window you observe an appliance-like device that is about the size of a water heater. This "appliance" is a simple, yet sophisticated, mini recycling system that is the "water heart" of the future home. This device takes shower and sink water and makes it usable for washing clothes and landscape irrigation. These mini water recycling units have the advantage of not having large infrastructure costs associated with repiping long distances from a central reclamation facility.
The clothes washer is smaller and the water line feeding the machine is purple. The purple line indicates the water is from the recycling system located outside. Nobody uses potable water to wash clothes anymore.
The landscape is much more native and drought tolerant than in the early 2000s. However, this is one of the few homes that has a small native recreational grass area where the children play. The grass needs much less water than the typical grass of yesteryear, and it is fed recycled water through a subsurface mat-like irrigation emitter. In fact, above ground sprinklers are no longer allowed. All irrigation must use recycled water and be applied below the surface to minimize evaporation.
Irrigation systems of the future will be constructed of quality materials no flimsy punctured black tubing and the installation must be performed by a certified water technician every landscape company has a few on staff. A "smart controller" that receives weather information and monitors soil moisture conditions will operate the irrigation system.
The attractive cobble-lined depression in the landscape receives rainfall runoff from the lot and helps it infiltrate into the ground. This reduces stormwater runoff and increases recharge to the groundwater aquifers.
While there is no crystal ball to predict the future, it is a sure bet that the future home will be equipped to utilize our water resources much more effectively.
Ron Duncan writes a biweekly column for the Sentinel on water-related issues. He is a manager for the Soquel Creek Water District. The district offers free home/business water survey visits. Call 475-8500. Ron can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.