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Fwd: Water Wise eSplash - Important Notice for Reclaimed Water Users; Summer Fertilizer Ban; Saving Water to Save Energy; Good Neighbors

-- Forwarded message ---------

From: St. Petersburg Water Conservation Office


IMPORTANT NOTICE - Low Reclaimed Water Pressure
 
The City of St. Petersburg has enacted dry weather protocols to conserve the city's supply of reclaimed water. Effective immediately, the City will temporarily lower the pressure to decrease the flow of reclaimed water coming from the City's water reclamation facilities during the hottest times of the day so that the quantity of reclaimed water will be sufficient for irrigating overnight and in the early morning.
 
Reclaimed water customers may notice decreased pressure coming from their sprinklers from 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and are encouraged to adjust their irrigation timers and only water according to the City's year-round reclaimed water voluntary irrigation schedule:
·   Water your lawn no more than three days per week.
o Even addresses should irrigate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
o Odd addresses should irrigate on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
·   Water from 5-9 a.m. or 7-11 p.m. Watering during the heat of the day is inefficient as much of the water used is lost to evaporation and wind drift.
 
Reclaimed water customers are also asked to turn their automatic sprinkler systems off if there is not adequate pressure for proper operation. This will aid in filling storage tanks so that customers will be able to irrigate.
 
The City of St. Petersburg would like reclaimed water customers to know that reclaimed water is a limited resource and should be used wisely. The supply of reclaimed water depends on the amount of wastewater being processed at the City's three water reclamation facilities. It takes five houses worth of wastewater to produce enough reclaimed water for one property.
 
Reclaimed water pressure will return to normal once the supply of reclaimed water is stabilized. If conditions worsen, the Mayor has the ability to enact mandatory restrictions on reclaimed water.
 
For more information on sprinkler system efficiency, visit the water conservation website.
Upcoming Virtual Class - Getting to Know Your Sprinkler System. Wednesday, June 23rd, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Register here.
Summer Fertilizer Ban Starts June 1st
 
Residents and business of Pinellas County, including those in the City of St. Petersburg, are required by law to avoid the application of nitrogen or phosphorous to lawn and landscape plants from June 1st to September 30th.
 
Summer rains don't water fertilizer in, they wash it away -- into our ponds, canals, Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Too much nitrogen or phosphorous could cause algae blooms and fish kills, spoiling the beautiful waterways that are our major source of recreation. The treatment of local waterways to remove these nutrients costs taxpayers millions of dollars each year. Nutrient pollution can be controlled with your help - It is much more cost effective to keep excess nutrients out of our waterways than to remove the pollution once it is there. For more information, view this brochure.
Making the Drops-to-Watts Connection:
Saving Water to Save Energy

Many people over recent years have been adopting energy efficiency practices and technologies such as solar energy and LED lights. But do you know how closely related water and electricity are to each other? Even though water and energy are separate utilities, they are intricately connected. It takes energy to pump, heat, treat and deliver the water we use every day. Alternatively, water is used to create electricity, usually in hydro and steam turbine power plants but also in power plants for cooling the equipment. Because of what is called the Water-Energy Nexus, saving energy saves water and vice-versa. An additional nexus linkage has been made to food since agriculture and associated food production and supply industries use a great amount of water and energy. Because of this interdependency sustainability and the scarcity of food, water and energy are concerns worldwide. For more information on the water-energy-food nexus, visit the United Nations website and the U.S. Department of Energy webpage.

How Can We Save Both Water and Energy?
Appliances and products. One of the simplest ways to save both water and energy is to install water-efficient products. According to the EPA, it takes 3,000 to 6,000 gallons of water to power a 60-watt incandescent bulb for 12 hours per day over the course of a year!

- Select appliances and products that have earned the EPA's WaterSense® label and/or are ENERGY STAR® qualified. As an example, installing WaterSense labeled faucet aerators in bathrooms costs just a few dollars, but could save enough electricity to dry your hair every day for a year! To find out how much water and energy you could save with efficient appliances, and how many pounds of greenhouse gas emissions you may prevent, visit the EPA's WaterSense Calculator.

- Consider buying a high efficiency (HE) clothes washer – the costs have dropped dramatically over the last five or more years and many top-loading models are qualified as EnergyStar. The high spin rates of HE washers remove more water from clothes than traditional machines. With less moisture remaining in the clothes, drying time is reduced, saving electricity. Also, HE machines use less water and, consequently, less energy than traditional machines. Select a model that allows you to adjust the water temperature and levels for different loads.

- Insulate the hot water pipes as much as possible. When hot water sits in pipes or even travels to its point-of-use, heat is lost through the pipe walls. Also, energy and water are wasted as we keep the faucet open waiting for hot water.

- Install an insulating blanket on the water heater tank. This could reduce standby heat losses by 25% to 45%. A pre-cut jacket or blanket costs around $25 and should pay for itself in about a year. Select and install the blanket according to manufacturer's instructions, based on the energy source (gas, solar, electric, etc.). More detailed information can be found on this Department of Energy webpage.

-Seek and fix leaks. Visit the Water Conservation webpage to learn how.

Designing and renovating a home. Thoughtful planning and design could provide efficient plumbing systems without significantly increasing costs or installation time. The goal is to efficiently move water from the water heater to each fixture. Be sure to follow state and local plumbing codes when making these decisions.
- Locate the highest hot water demand areas (the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry areas) as close as possible to the hot water heater. By designing homes with kitchens and baths concentrated in one area of the house, the length of the required piping is reduced.

- If centralizing demand areas is not practical, get hot water faster to these key areas by reducing the length and diameter of the plumbing pipe from the water heater to the kitchen and bathrooms (as code and manufacturer instructions permit). Not only is the hot water "wait time" reduced, but there will also be less heat loss in the shorter length of piping.

Original source of information in this article is from the EPA"s WaterSense and EnergyStar websites, and the Department of Energy's Energy Saver webpages.
Featured Program – St. Petersburg's Good Neighbor Guides
 
The Good Neighbor Guide series is designed to provide residents and businesses information regarding common concerns, ideas and solutions and also create supportive, sustainable and welcoming communities. The core of this initiative is informative materials and videos designed to be shared within a community and help us all be good neighbors. While a search of the city website using the words "good neighbor" will yield all of these resources, we will focus on just a few.
 
Sewer Smarts. Everything that goes down your sink, toilet, tub, or shower has to make its way through the sewer system to one of three water reclamation facilities in the city, where it is processed and "recycled" to be nutrient-rich reclaimed water for irrigation. However, each year hundreds of gallons of sewage overflows in St. Pete are caused by blockages in the pipes caused by fatbergs, which are congealed masses of grease combined with items that shouldn't be flushed. This video and the associated webpage provide details about when should and should not go down our drains.
Waste Reduction. We all know and love the 3 R's: "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". But do you know there are now 6 R's to help reduce waste? Waste, especially single-use plastics, can have negative environmental, economic, and quality of life impacts on our community. Our trash takes up space and produces greenhouse gasses and other pollution. Every resident, visitor and business can take part in reducing the amount of waste produced in St. Pete. Learn more with this flyer.
 
Leaf Blowing. Improper use of leaf blowers may lead to pollution and water quality problems in our creeks, lakes and surrounding bays, neighborhood flooding caused by clogged storm drains, noise and air pollution and unattractive debris in our streets. Do you know that there is a city (and Pinellas County) ordinance that prohibits blowing or depositing leaves, yard clippings or other debris into the public right-of-way, another property, city streets, alleys, or storm drains?
Learn more about the guidelines and reporting tools from this brochure.
 
The many other Good Neighbor Guides focus on topics such as residential parking, pool maintenance, residential trash and recycling and hurricane preparedness. Keep an eye on the city's website for new Guides!
Saving Water is Simple with a
Rebate from Tampa Bay Water Wise
 
To help our customers implement water conservation efforts, St. Petersburg is a partner in the Tampa Bay Water Wise Rebate Program, a regional effort that offers to eligible St. Petersburg utility customers rebates, information and more for several types of actions. Not a St. Pete. water customer? You might be eligible if you are a potable water customer of the counties of Pinellas, Hillsborough or Pasco, or the cities of Tampa and New Port Richey! For eligibility requirements, details, and an easy way to look up which rebates could apply to your property, visit Tampa Bay Water Wise or call 1-888-491-0033.
Receive a Rebate for Your Rain Barrel, Tote or Rain Garden!
 
Do you have a functioning rain barrel, rain tote or rain garden? The City of St. Petersburg has developed the Rainwater Rebate Program to recognize the positive efforts of its stormwater utility customers to conserve potable water and reduce the amount of stormwater runoff leaving their properties.

Rain Barrel Rebate — $50 Rain Tote Rebate — $100 Rain Garden Rebate — $100
 
NOTE: one eligibility requirement is the stormwater customer's attendance at a City-approved Rainwater Guardian Workshop (see article below).
 
Question or Comment? Contact us! Email: [email protected]
Documents and resources are found here.
Rainwater Guardian Virtual Workshops

Become a Rainwater Guardian by joining your neighbors to learn about:
·  Reducing your use of drinking water outside
·  How rainwater harvesting methods help protect local waterways and the environment
·  Rain barrel setup, use and maintenance
·  Creating shallow rain gardens that are attractive and functional 
 
To protect public health, classes are now offered virtually only. These virtual classes are free and open to the public. Share this flyer with your neighbors and friends! Pre-registration is required. See schedule below and select a link to register. 
Virtual Workshop Schedule
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 from 6 to 8 p.m. - REGISTRATION ENDS ON MEMORIAL DAY!
Saturday, June 26 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.


This post first appeared on Mark Rauterkus & Running Mates Ponder Current Even, please read the originial post: here

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Fwd: Water Wise eSplash - Important Notice for Reclaimed Water Users; Summer Fertilizer Ban; Saving Water to Save Energy; Good Neighbors

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