The Green Room

Riding out the drought

By Todd Franke on July 24, 2012 Leave a comment

You don’t have to follow the news to know what’s been a top story for the past several weeks. Lack of rain and excessive heat has left a large part of our country in a drought.

As of last week, drought has taken over 63.5 percent of the United States, the nation’s highest percentage since the 1950s, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor. And while there has been some rainfall in the East and Midwest recently, conditions over much of the country aren’t expected to let up anytime soon. Last week, a climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center predicted that the current dryness and heat wave pattern could easily go on into September.

The severity of the current drought has gotten many people talking about it – even generating Twitter hashtags like #drought12. But the conversation isn’t just about the heat and dry weather. It’s also about conserving water.

The last time the U.S. experienced a drought of this severity was 2007, when the Southeast saw the driest weather in more than a century. At that time, Walmart had been working on several measures to save water in our stores and Sam’s Club locations. Here are just a few that were installed and are still in place today:

• Toilets in our restrooms use 1.28 gallons per flush vs. the national standard of 1.6. Urinals use one-eighth of a gallon (aka one pint) per flush vs. the national standard of 1.
• Bathroom sinks use a half gallon per minute vs. the national standard of 2. Additionally, sensors turn the faucet off after 15 seconds so it can’t be left running.
• In food prep areas like our delis and bakeries, spray wash faucets use only 1 gallon of water per minute vs. the national standard of 2.

Since then, we’ve looked at many other ways to reduce the amount of water we use, including working with and listening to our suppliers for their input.

Using water responsibly and efficiently is especially important during a drought. But with only 2.5 percent of the earth’s water deemed fresh, taking steps to save water is a smart thing to do all year long. Here are a few ways you can contribute now – taken from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program:

• Thaw food in the refrigerator overnight rather than running a tap of hot water.
• Wash only full loads of laundry, and be sure to use the appropriate water level or load selection size on your washing machine.
• Scrape your plate instead of rinsing it before you load it into the dishwasher.
• Know when to water grass: If you step on your lawn and the grass springs back, it doesn’t need a drink.
• When you do water your lawn or landscaping, do so in the early morning (4 to 7 a.m.) to reduce evaporation.
• Wash your car less often – if at all – and when you do, use water from a bucket or visit a commercial car wash that recycles water.