Water-Without it we can’t survive. I remember of episode of Back to the Future with Michael J Fox where he goes back and visits his relatives. The water they drank was brown and muddy. Is there a possibility that we will someday return to drinking dirty water and be glad of it? Have we gone from so purifying our world that maybe we need a few more minerals in our water to make us healthy?

A few months ago one of the therapists I stopped at had an unusual filter. It was made of glass and inside were rocks. I asked what the rocks were for and they told me to restore minerals that had been lost in the cleansing process. It was about this time our family decided to start drinking Grander water full time. The company here in Calgary has one of the most unusual processes using nearly ten steps of cleaning and restoring the minerals to the water.

But why is this necessary? Isn’t the water you get from your tap good enough? Sure it has Chlorine, often flouridated, and here in Calgary much of our water comes from the mountains. We have some of the best waters in the world anyway. But there is a problem which even the experts and prophets are speaking of. The water we now take for granted will begin to run out in 25 years. Many of the glaciers are melting back and drought is commonplace in much of Western North America and in many countries of the world.

The question we have to ask ourselves is their a solution? The answer to that is yes. We have to stop and ask ourselves how we use our water and how much we really need. Is it really necessary to obtain all our water from municipal systems? Is it really necessary to take a bath everyday if a shower will do? And do we really need to spend 30-45 minutes taking those showers?

Do we really need to have green lawns that hold no more then ornamental purposes? If we live in an area where rainfall is plentiful then let nature water the grass or use greywater for the watering.

But real solutions require real ways of rethinking the way we live. There are few places in North America or elsewhere on the planet that don’t get at least 10-12 inches of rain per year. That amount of rainfall and moisture from snow is more then enough to supply the needs of every family that retains the water that falls on their area. But to obtain this water requires that we do not use it foolishly. Using proper drainage we can then store that water in two underground vaults. It is my belief that each should be between 10-15,000 sq feet in size. More then enough rain should fall to fill each and each can then meet the needs of an average family. There is a need for at least two water tanks so that one can be emptied and cleaned at least each year. After all water that sits too long does tend to get a little stale. Now there may be some ways to alleviate that but cleaning is still important.

Now I admit I’m not the first to think of these things. There are many families that are already doing this around the world. The difference is its not common. Most homes are not designed to capture rain but instead point the water into the streets where it is turned into the sewer. We have this mentality that water from the skies is somehow polluted and unclean not realizing how beneficial it really is nor how much really does fall. The end result is we throw away one of our most valuable assets because we cannot see a use for it. But that can change and must change. Wouldn’t it be ironic if you were watering your grass with water during a drought because you had too much water in your tanks?

Another way to save water, especially if you can’t redesign your home or put in water tanks, is to save rain water in barrels. There are many companies that provide barrels and this water is natural and much better for a garden then the chlorinated stuff that comes out of the faucet.

One of my favorite ways to get rid of greywater and sewage is not by burying it and having it trucked away but by having your own natural pond where animals live and thrive. When I say animals why not include snails, frogs, salamanders in that group? Cattails and algae are some of the natural filters nature uses to reclaim polluted land. Instead of tearing these things up from the earth lets put them to use. Now I realize that nature tends to shut down in the winter in some respects but there are ways to work around this. For example cisterns can hold the black water for 4-5 months and then when spring comes release this into the system. I’m not sure how this would work but its time we started finding ways to make it happen.

Clean water is important. We must start using what God has given us with wisdom because if we don’t those resources will start running out and running down. We can make a difference but we have to change the way we think and feel about nature. That it is not dirty or filthy but pure, lovely and good.