Recent malfunctions in our home’s irrigation system have wreaked havoc with my water efficiency efforts. The real problem wasn’t the leak, sometimes things happen and occasional maintenance is necessary. The issue was that the leak went undetected until weeks later when the water bill showed up.

Water is a basic human right and is priced relatively low for a good reason: We need it to survive. But one unintended consequence is that we also tend to take it for granted, even here in the parched Mojave, the driest desert on the continent and one of the driest areas in the world. In a place where we should value every drop of every gallon, it’s still considered acceptable, even normal, to detect leaks after the fact. I can only imagine how many others have the same experience every month and the cumulative waste it represents.

Continue reading Thoughts on Water Use in the Mojave Desert.