In many areas in the US the residents are in dire straights, you see they are in Level III drought and that means they cannot water their lawns, wash their car and they get fined if they go over their water allotment. There are even water police and code enforcement on the lookout, worse the neighbors are watching too and have a 1-800 phone number to turn them in.

Well, why don't they use the gray water from the showers, sinks, laundry, etc to water the lawn, shrubbery and landscaping. In fact, if they had been doing this before, then the water usage would have been down by 40% and there may have never been a drought situation in the first place? How much would all this cost?

Well, it appears that putting in such things do add a little to the price, and if one puts in French leach lines, rock, underground pipes, boxes and plumbing (dual - sewer and gray) then it will cost more. Also collecting rainwater is smart too. But even if it costs a little more, if that cost is kept down it should be done.

You know, Southern California is thirsty and in the coming years, well they really have no choice in the matter. It's either that or desalinate (4-times the cost for water) or a little of both. You cannot put that many people in that area with that density, and still suck the rest of the South West dry from water. It is not feasible to continue without such common and simple practices. Definitely something to contemplate in 2008.

My name is Lance Winslow and I am a semi-retired entrepreneur, retired Franchisor and now I am a consultant brain-4-hire, internet writer and author. I got bored in retirement so I founded the Online Think Tank - http://www.worldthinktank.net . If you would like to send me an email just to say hi, discuss an article, send me hate mail or need some advice you can find me at; http://www.carwashguys.com/history/founder.html . Have a great day and thanks for reading - tell me about you?