The presentation slides

Here is the slide set I used for the greywater presentation at The San Diego County Water Authority.

Part 2 - Greywater's Impact at The San Diego County Water Authority

Part 1 of our latest greywater presentation at The San Diego County Water Authority

World Water Day - time for a stat attack!

The total volume of water on Earth is about 1.4 billion km3. The volume of freshwater resources is around 35 million km3, or about 2.5 percent of the total volume.  Of these freshwater resources, 70 percent is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in mountainous regions, the Antarctic and Arctic regions.

The total usable freshwater supply for ecosystems and humans is about 200 000 km3 of water - less than 1 percent of all freshwater resources.

Source: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Water withdrawals are predicted to increase by 50 percent by 2025 in developing countries, and 18 per cent in developed countries.
Source: Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4)

Over 1.4 billion people currently live in river basins where the use of water exceeds minimum recharge levels, leading to the desiccation of rivers and depletion of groundwater.
Source: Human Development Report 2006

In 60 percent of European cities with more than 100,000 people, groundwater is being used at a faster rate than it can be replenished.
Source: World Business Counicl For Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

By 2025, 1 800 million people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world population could be under stress conditions.

More than one in six people worldwide - 894 million - don't have access to this amount of safe freshwater.
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) 

Globally, diarrhoea is the leading cause of illness and death, and 88 per cent of diarrhoeal deaths are due to a lack of access to sanitation facilities, together with inadequate availability of water for hygiene and unsafe drinking water.
Source: JMP

Today 2.5 billion people, including almost one billion children, live without even basic sanitation. Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation. That's 1.5 million preventable deaths each year.
Source: Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC)

The daily drinking water requirement per person is 2-4 litres, but it takes 2 000 to 5 000 litres of water to produce one person's daily food.
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts yields from rain-dependent agriculture could be down by 50 percent by 2020.

Due to climate change, Himalayan snow and ice, which provide vast amounts of water for agriculture in Asia, are expected to decline by 20 percent by 2030.
Source: FAO

Irrigation increases yields of most crops by 100 to 400 percent, and irrigated agriculture currently contributes to 40 percent of the world's food production.
Source: FAO

Poor drainage and irrigation practices have led to waterlogging and salinization of approximately 10 percent of the world's irrigated lands.
Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)

Every day, 2 million tons of human waste are disposed of in water courses.
Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)

In developing countries, 70 percent of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into waters where they pollute the usable water supply.
Source: WWAP

Contribution of the food sector to the production of organic water pollutants:
- High income countries: 40 percent
- Low-income countries: 54 percent
Source: WWAP

Projected increases in fertilizer use for food production and in wastewater effluents over the next three decades suggest there will be a 10-20 per cent global increase in river nitrogen flows to coastal ecosystems.
Source: Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4)

Half of the world's wetlands have been lost since 1900.
Source: WWAP

Between 1991 and 2000 over 665,000 people died in 2,557 natural disasters of which 90 percent were water-related events.
Source: WWAP                                      

Launch of my new blog

We harvest rain and greywater to create regenerative landscapes - it's our daily mantra.  This organization is about celebrating California's garden-land and water. Implementing practical, low cost methods to turn wastes into resources following the very best, sustainable standards.  Creating beautiful gardens that regenerate you, our water, our California, with high quality, professional service to do it right.

I can help postively contribute to California's water challenges and create a new profession in the green industry.  I'm also committed to advocacy and education, and am the proud first affiliate of Greywater Action - for a sustainable water culture.  

My first, and ongoing venture, Bang for your Green Buck was about establishing the best ROI (return) for your money and the environment - and greywater recycling easily came in at No.1 (validated here by The L.A. Times.  So, I decided to focus on water recycle.net, and help define the professional standards for a new green industry that will help us as Californians, and World Citizens.

Following my presentation to the Water Conservation Committee, San Diego County Water Authority, I got a very encouraging email today from one of it's members that I wanted to share:

"I agree that if more people knew about the low tech ways of making use of grey water it would become more common...let's find an opportunity for you to present at the Botanical Gardens" - Julian Duval, President/CEO San Diego Botanical Garden.

 The Journey continues, with excitement...