design principles note no. 1023
subject: |
water is a most sacred and precious element |
problem: |
water is generally treated as a mere right of utility |
All those who live in the more “advanced” parts of the world take water for granted. We become outraged if we can't turn on a tap an have pure, safe, water flowing freely. Yet we seldom stop to think of its special qualities, of its profound and mysterious nature. And on a practical level, we don't stop to think about where it comes from, what we do with it, how much we use or where it goes.
rills are a most ancient form of water management and art
problem:
We don't understand water beyond its practical uses. As an element, it is most profound, being the only one to expand either side of a given temperature (4°C). Is it tangible, or intangible? We can hold it in our open palm, yet try to grasp it and it disappears. We utterly depend upon it, yet we squander it unwisely, polluting the very substance we depend on for our life. Our bodies consist mostly of water, and what we do to water, we do to ourselves.
solution:
Treating water as a sacred element is the key to preserving and taking care of this precious resource. In our gardens, streets and town squares, therefore, we must celebrate the presence of water, acknowledging the gift of life which it gives us. We should also take far more care in the way in which we use it and be responsible for cleaning up the water which we all pollute, through the use of bio-filtration. Combined with ornament to celebrate its beauty, this is one of the most harmonising acts we can undertake.
This biofilter keeps this pond beautifully clean
Sanitising the use of water has meant that we now have little real contact with it, other than through our taps, or the chlorinated water of our swimming pools - both artificial experiences. Piping rainwater off the streets and into sewers, not only means that children don't get any experience of “wet play” in small streams and gullies, but has huge environmental consequences too. Stormwater doesn't get absorbed by the soil where it falls, to replenish the groundwater reserves but instead, is piped down the drains where increasingly in periods of heavy rain, it bottlenecks and causes flooding.
Divert your roof water into tanks or ponds for reuse for toilet-flushing and the washing machine, or within the garden, or to wash the car. Discharge your waste (grey) water through a biofilter and use for irrigation, or put it back to ground, within your garden. These are simple measures we can all take, which help the environment, reducing our consumption, raising our appreciation of this precious resource, and help us celebrate the joy of life which it gives us.
Most important of all, give your child a positive experience of playing with water, in a safe environment. Children are too isolated by adult fears of drowning, and of course, too many ponds are not designed with safety in mind. I have written an article on this, Children and Water.
summary:
- treat water as a sacred element, build fountains, rills and ponds
- don't isolate children from water - give them safe ways in which to experience it
- think about and reduce the ways in which you use water in the home
- combine your ornamental pond with a graywater biofilter to clean and reuse household water
- harvest roof water and use within the home or garden
- if building a swimming pool, consider a natural swimming pond