On becoming water wise...

As I sit here boiling water for my tea after my son's took their bath and with the (ultra water efficient bosch brand)dishwasher running, I am thinking about water. How precious this natural resource is that I too often take for granted. Of all the elements, I love water the most. The ocean is my favorite, but sometimes I get in a mode where "I must be around water!" So I head to Riverview Park or take the canoe down the Rivanna, or head to Sugar Hollow or a nice getaway is Ivy Creek.

If I love water so much, why don't I know more about our 50 year water plan and the heated debate surrounding it, I ask myself. I have my excuses, but the reality I likely share with many of you is that a feeling of being overwhelmed by all the complexities and differing viewpoints of the plan. This happens on the path toward more environmentally-responsible living. It's easy to get bogged down. It's hard to keep up, right? And we can't do it all at once...

Well, it's not as hard as you think. Tonight I'm making a renewed committment to be informed. Join me...

Where do we start?

My favorite tool for becoming informed on issues that directly affect our way of life here (without any spin factor or snarkiness): Charlottesville Tomorrow. Hats off to Brian Wheeler and Sean Tubbs and their board who have a class one non-profit organization whose mission is to keep us informed and engaged in the public discourse and therefore more motivated and able to take the next step: ACTION.

To connect on a broader, deeper level to our water here in Charlottesville, I'm going to take time to listen/read their online publication entitled "Our Water. Our Future." I just took a few minutes and listened to the first issue and already I'm feeling better informed.

From their website/email: "That's the title of Charlottesville Tomorrow's online publication on the state of our local water supply. As a subscriber to our e-mail alerts, you will be notified each of the six issues is published. With this message, I am pleased to announce that the fifth issue is now available on our website. cvilletomorrow.org

"Our Water Our Future" is an engaging online publication being released sequentially over this summer. Of course we will share facts, figures, and analysis, but you will also see informative illustrations, charts, and movies, plus hear some of the audio we have collected over the course of many community meetings.
We welcome your feedback and participation. I hope you will take advantage of the ability to comment on the content and even contribute your own insights to the detailed articles linked throughout “Our Water Our Future.”

Finally, here is a simple link to this project which you can share with your friends and neighbors: http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/water ."

Once you're informed, take action with Betty's help. Look up rainwater harvesting in the directory, find out about the city/county water saving kits, and look to see if there are any water/stream clean up events in the near future...

Thanks, guys!
BWB