Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Stage 2 Watering Rules San Antonio

                                                                           Image Credit:https://www.saws.org/conservation/drought-restrictions/stage-2/

Why do we go into Watering Rule Stages?

    Watering stages are put into place by our San Antonio Water System based on levels of the Edwards Aquifer. The Edwards Aquifer is a honeycombed well that provides about 2 million people in Texas drinking water and the primary water source for agriculture and industry in the aquifer's region. Water conservation is why it is important to help conserve the water funds and the watering rules go into place.

Watering Stages:

Stage 1: When the water level drops 660 feet mean sea level at the monitored well during a 10 day period, stage 1 begins. This means that watering with an irrigation, sprinkler system or soaker hose is only permitted once a week before 11 am or after 7 pm on a designated date. You can find the designated dates at SAWS.org

Stage 2: When the water level drops to 650 feet mean sea level at the monitored well during a 10 day period, stage 2 begins. This means watering with an irrigation system or sprinkler is allowed once a week from 7 am - 11 am or 7 pm to 11 pm on your designated date which can be found at saws.org

Stage 3:When the water level drops to 640 feet mean sea level at the monitored well during a 10 day period, stage 2 begins. This means landscape watering is allowed onle every other week from 7 am - 11 am or 7 pm to 11 pm on your designated date which can be found at saws.org

Stage 4: Restrictions are declared at the discretion of the City Manager upon a 30 day assessment following stage 3.

These ordinances are in place to align conservation goals with population growth and long-term supply strategies.

Variance Requests:

There are situations where a variance to the City's Ordinance may be requested where watering rules cannot be reasonably followed. These variance requests are carefully reviewed and are not always granted. Variances may include: New Landscape Variance, Water Fountains, Athletic Fields, Large Properties and Power Washing. To obtain a variance request go to saws.org.

Currently San Antonio is under a Stage 2 water restriction. Please help our city in conserving water and only water on designated watering days provided at saws.org.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Earth Day Forever

    April 22, 2021 is known as Earth Day and is recognized by more than a billion people and celebrated by more than 140 countries according to the National Geographic. 

People celebrate Earth Day by raising awareness about environmental issues and doing their small parts to pick up trash, plant trees, limit their water usage, limit their utility usage and offer time to community projects. Even though Earth Day is on a specific day, these activities go on for a week. By practicing these activities, people hope to make a difference and spread the word to continue getting others involved to conserve our precious planet.

It’s wonderful how small a gesture can be for the Earth that can play a huge part to prevent and protect it from further damage. Here are a few facts to give a better idea of conservation by National Geographic:

  • One reusable bag can prevent the use of 600 plastic bags.
  • Recycling one can of soda will save enough energy to power a tv for three hours.
  • Shutting down a computer when it’s not in use cuts the energy consumption by 85%.
  • For every mile walked instead of driven, nearly one pound of pollution is kept out of the air.

It’s amazing how little the things we do help conserve the energy and put back the beauty and healing of the Earth that we live on. If everyone continues doing their part and not just for one day or week, our Earth will be around for much longer than we can imagine!

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Declutter, Destress


    Not so fun fact, being surrounded by clutter is proven to cause anxiety and stress. Having doubts? Google 'stress of clutter' and find numerous studies surrounding the effects it has on our mental health.  Even the thought of getting the cleaning started can cause anxiety, stress and depression. Where do we go from here? We learn where to start and how to cope.

    It is proven that the stress hormone, cortisol, is triggered and released when one is surrounded by disorganization. The human brain works in a very organized manner to keep all parts of the human body functioning. When we surround ourselves with constant disorganization, our brain goes into overload trying to process our surroundings which reduces our ability to focus making it difficult to relax both physically and mentally.

   It sounds pretty simple. Get organized, stay organized and we won't have to worry about stress. Ideally, very simple, realistically it can be a little more complicated than we realize to even attempt to think about getting the organization started. Here are some small but helpful tips to get anyone started:

  • Pick a room and try not to bounce from one room to another. If there is more than one person working on the declutter, assign each a room.
  • Make piles of items to keep, recycle, donate, sell or trash. Be mindful and realistic of these items. Do you need the shirt that you may wear but haven't worn in so many years? Is the shirt in good condition to sell or could it be donated? Would the shirt make a better dust cloth? Take your time, think about it.
  • Don't stress about finishing the room chosen in a limited amount of time. Take breaks. Work 15-20 minutes, take a 30-40 minute break. 
  • Acknowledge the newly cleaned space and take credit for the job well done. Appreciate and breath.
    Taking the time to recognize a cluttered home and knowing that your day to day stress are related is one of the first steps to freedom and relaxation. Once you start, you won't want to stop. So feel good again and help make your own difference!

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Keep America Beautiful Month


    The month of April is known as Keep America Beautiful Month and it makes sense as it's such a beautiful time with sunshine, budded flowers, green trees and time spent outside! It's easy to enjoy such an amazing time but how do we maintain it? We come together as a community to clean up our beautiful land and experience harmony in doing so!

    The Keep America Beautiful movement was founded by the Girl and Boy Scouts of America alongside Keep America Beautiful, Inc in 1971 and was recognized by one specific day. It soon grew into a week long list of activities in 1982 to further educate people on how to improve the communities they live in. By 1984 it was largely recognized throughout cities across the country calling for a month of activities and programs to continue the common goal of living together in safe and clean neighborhoods. 

    Communities can come together to help continue the movement by reducing waste with repurposing and reusing old items and recycling. Teaching children by example how to practice the prevention of litter is another way to educate and clean up parks and neighborhoods. Planting or potting some flowers around our homes or businesses and cleaning up any left over winter debris will help beautify our communities. 

    There are so many ways to Keep America Beautiful and practice the movement continuously, not just during the month of April. Coming together as a whole community and taking action for our environment will make our country a more beautiful place!

    For more information on the Keep America Beautiful Movement, visit https://kab.org.