March 2018
NEWS
EarthTalk
(Continued from Page 2)
emissions as 1.6 million cars plying
our roadways.
“And that’s not even counting the
additional water that gets wasted
while waiting for hot water to arrive
at a lavatory faucet or the kitchen
sink,” added Osann.
Waiting for hot water isn’t just a
problem in older homes. “As homes
grew bigger during the housing
bubble, floor plans expanded, piping
was extended and wait times grew
even longer,” Osann explained.
“Additionally, although the flow
rates for new faucets and showers
have come down over the last 20
years in response to state and federal
efficiency standards, designers often
neglect to downsize the pipes serving
these more efficient fixtures.”
The result is large amounts of water
sitting in pipes cooling between uses.
For its part, the NRDC has been
working to reduce this unnecessary
waste—especially in new construc-
tion—by advocating for upgraded
building and plumbing codes.
In 2015, the group scored a double
win by convincing both the Interna-
tional Code Council and the Inter-
national Association of Plumbing
and Mechanical Officials to upgrade
their respective efficiency require-
ments—which most states and the
federal government automatically
follow—for hot water piping.
But unfortunately, the International
Code Council ignored subsequent
calls by NRDC to mandate more
compactly designed hot water pipe
layouts in new buildings, although
Osann said he thinks it’s only a mat-
ter of time before such changes are
uniformly adopted by the standards
bodies and most states.
As for what you can do now to
reduce the waste of water while wait-
ing for it to warm up, Osann recom-
mended clustering tasks that require
hot water close together to reduce the
“cool-down” effect between uses, and
capturing some portion of the initial
draw in a container and using it to
water the plants or fill up Fido’s dish.
You can also insulate hot water
pipes that are exposed in a basement,
attic or crawl space to keep the hot
water warm while it idles in the pipe
awaiting your next shower.
Better yet, replace your hot water
heater with a tankless water heater,
which heats water directly on de-
mand without the use of a storage
tank.
When hot water is turned on,
cold water travels through a pipe
into the unit, where either a gas or
electric burner heats the water in-
stantaneously.
As a result, tankless water heat-
ers deliver a constant supply of
hot water and there is no energy
or water waste due to waiting or to
water cooling—and then needing re-
heating later—in your conventional
water heater’s storage tank.
EarthTalk® is a weekly syndicated col-
umn produced by Doug Moss and Roddy
Scheer for the non-profit EarthTalk. To
find out more, submit a question, or make
a donation, visit us at EarthTalk.org.
The Southwest Portland Post • 7
SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR PLAN
(Continued from Page 5)
and projects that require the acquisi-
tion of real estate based on property
appraisal.
“In some cases, a lump sum cash out
is available to a small business in lieu
of relocation expense reimbursement,”
Koozer said. “TriMet has been in touch
with businesses that may be affected
and has invited them to engage and
participate.”
The advisory committee will re-
ceive the draft impact environmental
study sometime in April, according to
Metro. The committee will review and
process it for the steering committee,
which will make the final decisions
about the alignment.
Early morning walk through April Hill Park on Feb. 22. The quiet was incredible
and the textures were amazing to look at. (Photo by K.T. Emerson)
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