Easy Ways to Save Water
Southern California is in the midst of an ongoing drought due to the lowest supply of water from Northern California in 20 years. The City of Paramount gets 60% of its water from local wells but buys the other 40% from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD). The MWD has been urging everyone in the region to reduce water consumption by 10-20% and is now suggesting that it may need to ration the amount of water it sells to localities this coming autumn.
Paramount encourages residents to be aware of water usage and sensitive to avoiding waste. Actually, saving water can be a very easy thing to do with little or no impact on our daily lives.
For instance, everybody brushes their teeth. Instead of letting the tap run throughout the process, turn it off while brushing, turn it on for rinsing. The same goes for hand-washing dishes – turn off the flow while soaping and scrubbing and only run to rinse.
We lose a great deal of fresh water to the gutter when we hose down driveways and sidewalks. You can save an awful lot by using a broom to sweep these surfaces … and get a little exercise in the process!
Here are other very simple ideas that can help conserve water – you may be surprised at how quickly the savings can add up.
Only water your lawn and plants between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m.
(First check to see if it’s even necessary – step on your grass; if it springs back up, it doesn’t require water at that time.)
Free Pickup for Electronic Waste
The City of Paramount offers free collection of “E-waste” from your home for items such as computers, televisions, microwaves, cell phones and stereos. Electronic (or “E”) waste cannot be tossed in landfills, and must be recycled or otherwise properly disposed of.
Repair leaks. (Call the Paramount Water Company at 562/220-2010 if you need help detecting leaks.)
Install low-flow showerheads.
Shorten your showers by a few minutes.
Only wash full loads for both laundry and automatic dishwashers.
If you wash your own car, use a bucket and sponge, or a hose with a shutoff nozzle.
Turn off decorative fountains that don’t re-circulate water. There are also rebates available to Paramount residents through the Central Basin Municipal Water District for the purchase of certain water-saving appliances. Please visit www.centralbasin.org or www.bewaterwise.com to learn about them and for more ways to conserve.
Our free collection service is for single-family homes, multifamily housing and mobile home parks. To schedule a pick up, call Cal-Met at (562) 259-1239 at least one day before your normal trash day. Then, on trash day, place the E-waste at your curbside to be hauled away.
Upcoming Meetings
10/07/08 - 7:00 PM City Council
10/08/08 - 6:30 PM Planning Commission
10/15/08 - 6:00 PM Parks & Recreation Commission
10/21/08 - 5:00 PM City Council
10/28/08 - 6:00 PM Public Safety Commission
For more information about Council and Commission meetings, please call (562) 220-2027.