Sustainability Stamps

Water Efficiency is extremely important in this day and age. Because energy demands and costs of desalinization for ocean water are so high, fresh water treatment is currently our best method for potable water. And while states in the Midwest such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois do not suffer from lack of fresh water; many areas around the United States that rely on its waters do suffer from a lack of abundance. Scientists estimate that less than 0.1% of the Earth's water resources are fresh and made available for drinking to sustain peoples' lives. With increasing human population and consumption trends, and widespread pollution of the world’s surface water systems; great strains have been placed on the remaining supplies of clean, fresh water. Since water has become a commodity in the 21st Century, we’ve had to keep up with the changing tides of the global economy, while competition for access to fresh, potable water continues to increase.

Water Efficient products are simply fixtures which supply you with less water per second. One misnomer with products and their respected product suppliers are the extent to which a water efficient fixture can maintain high water pressure while still saving water. While some suppliers offer such products, Green Designs and Supply prides itself in its vision to keep with the times carrying contemporary, high-tech products. We carry products such as shower heads for example, that have the technology to save water (ultimately saving you money) and yet maintain a water pressure that your aching muscles deserve. Check out our Water Efficiency section on the Products page!

Water Quality is another important consideration. Current statistics depict a rise in water supply contamination of our tributaries, rivers, bays, groundwater aquifers, lakes and great oceans.

American municipalities and private sector firms’ work together to treat our water via filtration processes including reverse osmosis and use chemicals such as chlorine or bleach to treat the water. Sometimes tourists who travel to the U.S. that come from various countries where chemicals such as chlorine are not used in the treatment of their native water supply, fall ill from drinking our tap water and vice versa when we ingest their water. Unfortunately, neither method is currently working perfectly, but the chemical treatment method is gaining global popularity.

Currently, people world-wide in industrialized nations are wising up to bottled Water Quality and more and more of us understand that tap water in municipal supplies are tested and go through proper sewer systems is better quality than well-water or store bought water stored in plastic bottles. For those who drink, bathe and cook with their municipal tap water, tap on! GDS recommends for added precaution, get your water tested, place an activated carbon filter on your tap water pipes and change the carbon filters regularly. Also, globally speaking, more work needs to be done in developing nations to pass on current best practices regarding Water Quality and Water Efficiency methods. Please contact us for assistance with these processes.

More about carbon water filters: Activated carbon surface properties are both hydrophobic and oleophilic; that is, they repel water but cling to oil. When flow conditions are heavy, dissolved chemicals in water flowing over the carbon surface “stick” to the carbon in a thin film while the water passes on.

This process is called adsorption. As a result of the adsorption process, activated carbon is an effective method in removing chlorine and it's bi-products (TTHM's) and volatile organic compounds (carbon based VOC's). Both, man-made and naturally occurring including chemicals it can filter among others include:

alachlor; atrazine; benzene; carbofuran; carbon tetrachloride; chlorobenzene 2,4-D; dibromochloropropane (DBCP); O, P-dechlorobenzines; 1, 2-dechloropropane; cis-1,3-dichloropropylene; toxaphene; chlordane; radon; lindane; simazine; PCB's; Toluene; Xylenes, etc.

Let's work to both conserve potable water and keep our waters clean by decreasing deforestation around waterways and increase other best practices like high-quality infrastructure, planning and engineering. Contact a professional with Green Designs and Supply for assistance.