US Drought Avoidable Claims Australian Real Estate Expert

(Newswire.net — May 18, 2015) Melbourne, Victoria — Despite their location next to the Pacific Ocean, Californians are faced with a record drought. Lawmakers and legislators are fighting for both long and short-term solutions to the water shortage, and have started enacting measures including stringent water restrictions.

California Governor Jerry Brown recently put into effect California’s first mandatory water restriction. This requires businesses and residents to scale back their water usage by a minimum of 25%. 

Unfortunately, the measures taken will probably not be enough to help the state. The water situation is a complex one and current measures are unlikely to make a noticeable impact.  California uses about 38 billion gallons of water per day, much of which is for agriculture. In fact, Californians have cut back less than 4% in March – a dismal failure. 

Since California is facing one of the worst droughts on record, the state is making an effort to find new and measurable solutions to the water shortage. Government and industry experts are examining other areas to see what kind of solutions they’re finding. 

A country with experience in droughts is Australia. US authorities are hoping the Land Down Under has some helpful answers to the Golden State’s water shortage.

Australia faced their own water crisis long before California did. In fact, their “millennium drought” started in 1995 and ended in 2009. This drought could have permanently crippled their economy. However, through a series of dramatic reforms, the Australian government was able to adapt their infrastructure to repurpose water supplies which conserved and stored water. 

Although it cost the country billions of dollars, Australia repaired and restored their reservoirs, implemented water reuse programs and used sophisticated equipment to monitor soil levels.

According to Australian, Katerina Kapellaki, founder of the Property Stylist, Californian residences can implement many of the same water saving concepts that Australians have used for years.  “These ideas are simple, practical and, can be easily implemented.” says Kapellaki.  “For example, even though you’re eliminating your grass lawn, why not create a xeriscape in your yard?  By doing this, you’re re-introducing native plants that require much less moisture and you can still have a beautiful yard – and guess what?  As a more practical measure, after the xeriscape is in, there’s much less ongoing maintenance required.”

With the average lawn California using over 10,000 gallons of water over the course of a summer, when even a small part is replaced by xeriscaping, the savings add up significantly. Water conservation isn’t just for the outside of a residence according to Kapellaki. She suggests making a list and implementing changes within homes also. Here are some practical suggestions that she recommends.

• Install low flow showers and faucets in your bathrooms and kitchens. This can save up to 45 gallons of water per day.
• Checking all faucets to make sure there are no leaks.  It’s a very simple fix to change out washers and even toilet leaks. She suggests placing a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank and, if the water in the bowl changes color, then your toilet has a leak that needs to be fixed.
• Place a couple of gallon bottles filled with sand into the bowl. This raises the water level, which in turn, conserves water.
• Never leave water just running while brushing your teeth. Just turning off the faucet can save up to 5 gallons of water.
• Consider washing your dishes by hand, but make sure you turn off the water instead of leaving the water running.

One of the most important things that people can do to conserve water is to develop good habits. “This might take some time,” explains Kapellaki, “afterall, people don’t just instantly change what they’ve been doing for years, however, by consciously applying a water conservation mindset, you’d be surprised about how quickly you can adapt.” 

An added benefit to implementing water conservation devices and xeriscaping your yard is the potential of increased property. As Californians become more water conservation conscious, it only makes sense that homebuyers will look for properties that have already implemented water saving methods.

Although California has started implementing conservation, it still has a long way to go. Though the Governor Brown’s recent executive orders have been put into effect, the state still hasn’t begun the process of enacting any solutions on a long-term basis.  

According to Kapellaki though, this doesn’t mean that Californians can’t follow the ideas that Australians have implemented. “It shouldn’t have to take the government implementing regulations and laws for us to get in the habit of conserving water. It just takes some thought and planning.”