by Linda Nichols, Assistant Naturalist

Water.  Water is often taken for granted.  However, when one stops and really focuses on the water that engulfs their life, they discover water is more than a chemical substance.  Religions across the world use water as part of their rituals.  Water provides memories for us.  How many remember bathing a newborn or long days in a pool as a kid with their friends or a late night on a lake telling stories with family?  Sometimes water is a destination—Niagara Falls, the Pacific Ocean, Key Largo.  Do you bathe, use a toilet, or eat?   Water provides recreational opportunities.  Whether a large body of salt water or a stream of fresh water, activities such as fishing, swimming, canoeing, and more (surfboarding!) entertain us.  Forever in history, rivers have been highways to move goods and people.  Farmers rely on water to grow crops that then enter the food chain; when there are seasons of excess or scarcity of rain, water influences economics.  Water is one way we generate energy.  Humans and wildlife require water to survive and perform their basic functions.  Water is found in all facets of life.

Water covers 70% of the earth.   Only 3% of this water is fresh water, and 2/3 of that is in frozen glaciers or unavailable (polluted, too far below ground, etc) for our use.   Between increased consumption by humans from population growth and changes in weather patterns due to climate change, water systems are becoming stressed effecting not only ecosystems but human water accessibility and behaviors.  The water “situation” is not a problem of the future.  According to World Wildlife Fund, Inc (www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity), “By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages.  And ecosystems around the world will suffer even more.”

Drought, or lack of water, is problematic already in the southwestern United State.  In June the Interior Department of the federal government informed states in the Colorado River basin, that they had to find ways to drastically cut water consumption in the seven states through which it flows.  The Colorado River basin services over 40 million people and irrigates 55 million acres of farmland (www.drought.gov).  As of June 21, 2022, almost 7% of the Colorado River basin was at an “Exceptional Drought” level.   This may not seem like desperate times but consider approximately 80% of the basin was in a severe drought requiring water restrictions as well as crop or pasture losses.  For a moment, carry this one step further: Lake Mead and Lake Powell depends on the Colorado River basin.  When their levels are down, which at the time of printing they were only at 25% capacity, this restricts the ability to create electricity.  Thus, water shortages can lead to power grid issues.

Simultaneously, flooding, the overflow of water onto ground normally dry, is detrimental to water supply.  The Nature Conservancy in their spring 2021 magazine featured an article about the flooding of the Mississippi River basin.  The article discusses several occurrences of flooding of towns and how it has impacted residents.  The Mississippi River stretches from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.  And while time and natural occurrences would affect the direction and flow of the river, the Mississippi River is becoming disassociated from its flood plains due levee and dam construction and destruction of wetlands.  This results in ripple-effect issues such as erosion, crop damage, and water quality.  In turn there is loss of land, higher commodity prices, and decline of species presence.  All decisions upstream playout downstream.  The author detailed a prime example, “For millennia, the Mississippi carried sediment downstream and deposited it at the mouth of the river, constantly building wetlands and barrier islands that helped protect the coastline from storms and erosion.  But since the river was leveed, this process has all but stopped, and the delta has lost more than 440,000 acres of land, endangering the coastline and the city of New Orleans.” 

Are you asking how this relates to Hendricks County Hoosiers?!

This is a call for us to learn from these two river basins so that central Indiana doesn’t become the next example an extreme water event.  This isn’t the time to be wishy-washy.  There are everyday actions that we can take that can strengthen and/or help our local water resources and systems.    The reality is that historically almost a quarter of Indiana was wetlands; flooding is not out of the realm of possibility.   The converse of that exists as well: water providers can only keep up with our actions if we are not greedy with our consumption do our part to keep the water sources clean. 

Each person/family can contribute to a better water scenario in their home and on their adventures. 

• Check with your water provider for their specific recommendations on keeping your water budget down.  Let’s be honest—if you see more money in your pocket, there is some incentive for you day-to-day to your part. 
• Reduce your water usage.  THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS! This can be done in as little as pouring the remaining water from your water bottle the day before onto your flowers instead of that water going down the drain.  Head to your favorite home improvement store to research and purchase WaterSense products (www.epa.gov/watersense) to install on your property.  These are items such as shower heads, toilets, and faucets that you reduce the amount of water used.  It may seem like a scene from a children’s educational tv show, but there is truth that water can be conserved by turning off that faucet while brushing your teeth.  Take showers instead of baths; showers use less water.  Want to be a real water protector?  Shower less….or not as long.  Collected rainwater can be used later for those outdoor plants. 
• Use a sponge and bucket, not hose when washing car.  A hose can waste 6 gallons per minute (www.epa.gov/environment-topics/water-topics).  Along these lines, don’t use a hose for tasks that can be done with a broom (ie. Sweeping the sidewalk).
• Only run the dishwasher or clothes washer when they are full.  Less water will be used in the long-run.
• Water your plants, flowers, and grass in the morning.  Watering when it’s hot and sunny is wasteful, because most of the water evaporates before the plants benefit.
• Plant native plants. Before purchasing plants (trees, flowers, shrubs, grasses, vines, ferns, etc), visit www.indiananativeplants.org to learn more about which plants are native to the Indiana landscape.  These plants will grow stronger and deeper roots. (Bonus: they provide a habit that attracts more of the wildlife.)  This increases the soil’s capacity to store water (and, uhm, refer back to point one).  And! Natives require less pesticides and fertilizer, which leads to….
• Keep your watershed clean.  A watershed is an area of land that collects and drains water from high points to low points.  To learn more about watersheds in general and to discover YOUR watershed, visit www.in.gov/idem/nps/what-is-a-watershed/.  Water providers have to work overtime the more pollutants are in the water (Refer back to point one: when they do more work, they turn that expense to the consumer.)  Excessive chemical fertilizers and other pollutants will saturate into the soil and degrade it. In the waterways, the chemicals can deplete the oxygen in the water endangering the aquatic animals.  The more variety of species in the water indicates the healthier the water.   Picking up even one or two pieces in the waste can means one or two not in a river.   You can do this in your yard, at the park, or …anywhere! 
• Educate yourself and others!   There were several websites included in this article that have so much more information on water conservation than just the point they referenced.  The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has a webpage dedicated to Water Conservation Resources that you can explore more ways that you can be water-wise: www.in.gov/dnr/water/water-availability-use-rights/water-resource-updates/water-conservation.  Also, www.usgs.gov has some great information on watersheds and all things water.  (Go to the search bar on their website and enter “watersheds”.  Explore from there!) Additionally, check out www.mywaterway.epa.gov to learn about the water quality in your community. 

Let’s do this!  Let’s be the solution!  Tell a neighbor, ask a friend, be informed.  We’re all in this together.  You may not feel like you’re doing much, but all combined we can make a difference.  It’s up to us to make sure that our great-grandchildren can go creek stomping in Big Walnut Creek in a few decades.