Happy 4th of July from Boden Plumbing

Sonoma Fireworks by Susan Kelleher on flickr.com

We wish everyone a safe and fun time on the 4th -
relax, eat plenty and enjoy friends and family!

Take the Plunge(r). Really!

Perhaps you have forgotten that you meant to stop by the shop and pick up your FREE plunger. Perhaps you missed all those ads we've been running to remind you.

Well, WE STILL HAVE FREE PLUNGERS AVAILABLE. Stop by our shop on Broadway (right across from the high school) and pick one up today.

Before you forget again.

These are sturdy (we're talking you could keep it behind the door in case a bad guy comes knocking), made-to-last, professional-grade tools of our trade. And they come with NO STRINGS ATTACHED. The only thing attached to these babies is a $23-off coupon towards installation of a new toilet (should the need arise).

Seriously. Why are you not here already?

Save Water, Save Money: Sonoma County Still Offering Rebates

A few years back there was a big push in Sonoma County to get as many of the older non low-flow toilets changed out for bona fide low-flow models. The effort was called the Direct Install Program, and it was a great success. Thousands of water-hungry toilets went bye-bye and mucho water is being saved as we speak.

Maybe you were able to take advantage of the program - or maybe you missed the opportunity. The Direct Install Program is over -- but Sonoma County is still offering some water efficiency rebates.

You can find complete details -- and even download the necessary forms -- on the Sonoma County Water Agency's website. Visit www.scwa.ca.gov/sanitation-rebates/. There are rebates available for high-efficiency clothes washers and toilets if you're a customer of one of the sanitation districts listed.

If you're a resident of the City of Sonoma, go to the City's Water Conservation web page where you'll find info on the rebates available for high-efficiency clothes washers and toilets, as well as the Cash-for-Grass program. (No, not THAT kind of grass! geeze ;-)

The summer season is here, and this is when your water bill will start to climb if you're watering lawns and veggies. Let that be a reminder that there's water and money to be saved!

Drip, drip, drip, drip... Are YOU "Living With a Drip?"

When was the last time you assessed the situation at your house? Those piddling little drips you think are of no account? They add UP! Seriously people, don't be "Living With a Drip"!

The facts speak volumes - like gallons and gallons kind of volumes...

• Approximately 1 in every 318 homes or buildings has a leak.
• An invisible leak in the toilet will waste up to 15 gallons of water a day or 5,475 gallons a year.
• If a drip from your faucet fills an eight-ounce glass in 15 minutes, it will waste 180 gallons per month and 2,160 gallons per year.
• A slight trickling faucet or showerhead can waste up to 100 gallons of water or more in a week (depending on the size of the drip).
• A dripping faucet/hose bib can lose up to 180 gallons a month or 2,160 gallons per year.
• A 1/8 inch hole in a metal pipe, at 40 psi, leaks 2,500 gallons of water in 24 hours.
• A leak the size of a pinhead can waste 360,000 gallons per year, enough to fill 12,000 bathtubs to the overflow mark.
• Consider this, a failure at 70 pounds of pressure can expel up to 650 gallons of water per hour. That’s what you could be faced with if your washing machine hose fails. Washing machine hoses are usually made of reinforced rubber, which can lose resiliency and burst as it gets older. It’s important to replace this hose every 3-5 years.

Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plumbing
http://www.blindandsons.com

Sonoma Community Center Dedicates Rainwater Catchment Tank

The Sonoma Community Center will be hosting a special little event from 10 to 11:30 a.m. this coming Saturday, June 9, to dedicate their new rainwater catchment tank.

Their rainwater harvesting system, which includes a 7,900-gallon tank plus water catchment and irrigation systems, is the product of a two-year collaboration between city, county and local partners including the Water Conservation Program of the City of Sonoma; the Sonoma County Master Gardeners; the Ellman Fund; the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Management Program, a broad-based stakeholder group with representatives from agriculture, dairies, government, water purveyors, business and environmental interests; the North Bay Watershed Association; the Sonoma County Water Agency; Boden Plumbing (that's us!); and Rainwater Harvesting Solutions.

For more information, visit the community center's web page for the event at ... Rain Tank Opening.

Sonoma Community Center
276 E. Napa St.
Sonoma, CA 95476
www.sonomacommunitycenter.org
707-938-4626

Rain Harvesting at Sonoma Community Center

In last week's post, we mentioned the new water tank at the Sonoma Community Center and said we really think it would be great to see more people harvesting and storing water in Northern California.

Well, we could have gone on to toot our own horn a little as it turns out. Here at Boden Plumbing we're so enamored of this kind of thing that we donated our help in getting the tank plumbed and primed to deliver water to the Center's beautiful garden and landscape. And this week we've got a few more pictures to share showing the guys at work.

Boden Plumbing trucks onsite at Sonoma Community Center,
near the new 8,000-gallon water storage tank.

Randy and Rudy scoping things out. (Yeah, Randy. It's kind of high.)

Looks like they opted to get started on terra firma first.

And then decided Randy would go up the ladder.
Chris, Casey, Rudy and Randy (left to right)

One company donated the tank and the drain that will bring water off the roof and into the tank. Waldron Landscaping provided trenching to get the water distribution lines where they need to be onsite, and then we laid the lines and got everything hooked up and functioning.

A small pump will push water through the system. During the dry part of the year, City water will keep the tank topped up. And then when the rain is falling, there is an overflow mechanism that will let any excess water drain away across the parking lot as usual. There is also a metering system that will allow the folks at the community center to monitor just how much water they are saving by storing and using the winter rains.

So a pretty cool set-up. There are still a few details to take care of before it's tested and fully functioning, but we'll be very interested to find out how it works out. Hopefully it will inspire other people to try rain harvesting and storage.

The Ancient Ingenuity of Water Harvesting

In this TEDIndia talk, Anupam Mishra talks about the amazing feats of engineering built centuries ago by the people of India's Golden Desert to harvest water. These structures are still used today and, as he explains, are often superior to modern water megaprojects.

New water tank at SCC

In an area that receives just nine or ten inches of rain a year and where the saline groundwater is 300 feet below the surface - too far to use solar power to pull it up even if it could be made potable - people have developed efficient ways to capture and store the water they need. Wouldn't it be great if site-specific water-harvesting became commonplace here in Northern California?

[Actually, that reminds us. Have you seen the new storage tank at the Sonoma Community Center? Really flashy. They'll be storing rain water captured from the roof and using it to irrigate the garden.]

So here's the story from India.



About the speaker:
Anupam Mishra works to preserve rural India’s traditional rainwater harvesting techniques as part of his effort to promote smart water management and ensure that every community is self-sustainable and efficiently safekeeping an increasingly scarce and precious resource.

He travels across India studying rainwater harvesting methods and learning from the people behind them. He presents his findings to NGOs, development agencies and environmental groups, pulling from centuries of indigenous wisdom that has found water for drinking and irrigation even in extremely arid landscapes through wells, filter ponds and other catchment systems.

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Find more great talks from TED at www.ted.com