This topic looks at the use and waste of water by comparing my off-grid lifestyle with my alternative existence on land.
When pure, air and water are the only two things on earth absolutely essential for sustenance of human life.
Contaminated, both are common killers of humans. Deprivation of either also kills.
Deprived of air, a human life will be extinguished within a couple of minutes; deprived of water, a couple of days.
Drowning is where the air and water get together to share the killing,
drowning being the extinguishment of life by deprivation of air by immersion in water.
I n h a l e s l o w l y .... E x h a l e s l o w l y .
It may be obvious or apparent that I have two identities; one on land, the other on water.
The entities come together on this website to share their experiences.
In this discussion the entities dwell on water provision to boats on [London] canals,
sparked by a frequently asked question I was asked as a boater, by passers by
when I was tied up at London Towpaths.
"Do boats have showers and/or flush toilets?"
I'd reply that most boats did indeed have toilets and showers and they used water.
But! My boat uses a composter and my shower has not been connected for years.
I have not yet been asked the same question in the Midlands
When pure, air and water are the only two things on earth absolutely essential for sustenance of human life.
Contaminated, both are common killers of humans. Deprivation of either also kills.
Deprived of air, a human life will be extinguished within a couple of minutes; deprived of water, a couple of days.
Drowning is where the air and water get together to share the killing,
drowning being the extinguishment of life by deprivation of air by immersion in water.
I n h a l e s l o w l y .... E x h a l e s l o w l y .
It may be obvious or apparent that I have two identities; one on land, the other on water.
The entities come together on this website to share their experiences.
In this discussion the entities dwell on water provision to boats on [London] canals,
sparked by a frequently asked question I was asked as a boater, by passers by
when I was tied up at London Towpaths.
"Do boats have showers and/or flush toilets?"
I'd reply that most boats did indeed have toilets and showers and they used water.
But! My boat uses a composter and my shower has not been connected for years.
I have not yet been asked the same question in the Midlands
Do you pay to have water on your boat?
No!
Why not?
Boats do not pay for water.
It is provided 'free',
but not as a condition of the license.
No!
Why not?
Boats do not pay for water.
It is provided 'free',
but not as a condition of the license.
It is a kickback to a time when canals were commercial arteries.
Boats were hauled by thirsty horses driven by "Number Ones"
who liked a brew and had a Buckby pitcher to hold the water to make it.
The rumour comes from quiet investigation of these innocuous questions.
Apparently someone has copped that boats for living on have been
taking up 'free' water since leisure boating began.
It never occurred to the canal authority's bean counters
that a nice little earner was being missed or ignored.
Rumour has it that authority is thinking of addressing this.
Boats were hauled by thirsty horses driven by "Number Ones"
who liked a brew and had a Buckby pitcher to hold the water to make it.
The rumour comes from quiet investigation of these innocuous questions.
Apparently someone has copped that boats for living on have been
taking up 'free' water since leisure boating began.
It never occurred to the canal authority's bean counters
that a nice little earner was being missed or ignored.
Rumour has it that authority is thinking of addressing this.
WATER CHARGED AND WATER COSTED
Meters may exist somewhere on the cut. I dunno.
But I do know that canal boats access water without being charged for it.
Meters may exist somewhere on the cut. I dunno.
But I do know that canal boats access water without being charged for it.
Do you like cold showers?
People with nothing much else to do determine that the average gravity-fed shower in a house uses about 6Litres of water per minute. Again, this quantity is variable but easy to measure (if you have a shower, that is) using a 10L bucket and a stop watch.
People with nothing much else to do determine that the average gravity-fed shower in a house uses about 6Litres of water per minute. Again, this quantity is variable but easy to measure (if you have a shower, that is) using a 10L bucket and a stop watch.
Do you like your shower HOT?
On land, Building Regulations Guidance 'limits' the amount of water available to new dwellings to 125L per day per person. This 'Guidance' has no [known] application to water points on canals.
On land, Building Regulations Guidance 'limits' the amount of water available to new dwellings to 125L per day per person. This 'Guidance' has no [known] application to water points on canals.
Heating Water To Wash
In 2020 it cost about £6 to heat (1000L) of water by about 20ºC in dwellings on land. This 20ºC rise in temperature is ball park reality on paper although a hot water cistern is more likely be set at 60ºC. People with little else to do figure it takes over 20 units to heat 1000Litres of water to "20ºC above room temperature" which itself is a variable between about 12ºC & 22ºC.
The UK Energy Savings Trust reckoned the "national average" cost of a kWh to be 20p in 2020 on which basis a year's baths would burn £20. So! £20 for the water and £20 for heating it, comes to £40 without taking account of capital costs or maintenance.
Using the same costings and logic for showering most days for a year, allow £80 per year for the water water and the heat.
Showering introduces huge variations as in the 5mins v 10mins option above.
In 2020 it cost about £6 to heat (1000L) of water by about 20ºC in dwellings on land. This 20ºC rise in temperature is ball park reality on paper although a hot water cistern is more likely be set at 60ºC. People with little else to do figure it takes over 20 units to heat 1000Litres of water to "20ºC above room temperature" which itself is a variable between about 12ºC & 22ºC.
The UK Energy Savings Trust reckoned the "national average" cost of a kWh to be 20p in 2020 on which basis a year's baths would burn £20. So! £20 for the water and £20 for heating it, comes to £40 without taking account of capital costs or maintenance.
Using the same costings and logic for showering most days for a year, allow £80 per year for the water water and the heat.
Showering introduces huge variations as in the 5mins v 10mins option above.
Pumping Up the Volume
Four people in one house having a 10-minute power shower daily (conservative in a home where two of the four are typical teenagers!) could use as much as 250,000L in twelve months.
THE ECOLOGY STRAIN: Four college students with a power-shower could be responsible for a staggering 3.5 tonnes of CO2 at pump-houses and power stations. 'They' tell us we can afford only one tonne of carbon emissions per person – for everything from food to transport - if we are to control global temperatures. This power-shower collective would blow their total annual carbon budget for the year just in showering.
AHEAD: to places you might use water (2013-2)
ASTERN: places where you might heat it.
Four people in one house having a 10-minute power shower daily (conservative in a home where two of the four are typical teenagers!) could use as much as 250,000L in twelve months.
THE ECOLOGY STRAIN: Four college students with a power-shower could be responsible for a staggering 3.5 tonnes of CO2 at pump-houses and power stations. 'They' tell us we can afford only one tonne of carbon emissions per person – for everything from food to transport - if we are to control global temperatures. This power-shower collective would blow their total annual carbon budget for the year just in showering.
AHEAD: to places you might use water (2013-2)
ASTERN: places where you might heat it.
