When we tell people out of town what we’re doing, the reaction is always to be skeptical, and somethig like“Really? Do you return the water?” But you live in Las Vegas. There is no water in the desert. What do you have about water? Rivers flow through the city, there is no chance of a hurricane or tsunami, and the water level in Lake Mead drops very quickly, so there is no danger of it flowing through the city, but there are several other sources from which water can be lost.
First, focus on the rest of the natural resources. We’ve ruled out rivers, crazy storms, big waves, and rolling lakes, but believe it or not, it rains sometimes – even in the desert. When it rains on us, it comes down hard and fast, it pours a lot of water in one go, and then it goes on. The Las Vegas problem is that we’re not ready to accept that. In the desert, even the land is dry and rough, it does not absorb rain quickly, it can move, and puddles can form in painful places.
Also, we don’t have as many rainwater drains (at least not in Las Vegas); City planners didn’t feel the need to include them in the infrastructure because we’re getting a lot of rain. However, the effect of these lost drains is that the water does not go anywhere, and our streets are overwhelmed – like cars that float around the road, like boats in a row. This is especially true in those parts of the Las Vegas Valley that are less than others – in flooded areas. This floodwater can sometimes be high enough to enter homes, and it can cause some serious damage, but as I said, we often find it in flood plains.
Now that we have compensated for the Water damage caused by nature, let’s take a look at the manmade species. Like many of you who are reading this, most of us who live in the desert also own indoor plumbing! We see most of our work through these prepared sources. When you run all that water through the walls, ceilings, and floors of your home, there are a few things that can go wrong.
The most common cause of indoor water loss insurance claims that we see is the failure of a washer’s water supply line. Depending on the tube diameter and water pressure, water flows through these lines at a rate of about 1020 gallons per minute. If you load a towel and leave it for 23 hours to do some work, you can go home somewhere between 1,2003600 gallons of unwanted water. One gallon of water weighs 8.35 pounds, so it would be between 10,000 and 30,000 pounds of water.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll go home to clean the towels instead of the soaked house. So, what can you do to prevent this? Well, due to our dry climate, the poor plastic/rubber hoses included in most washing machines dry out and eventually break at their weakest points, so we braided the steel, replacing it with the connecting lines. They are tough and won’t crack in our dry conditions (and their fittings can’t slip like rubber hoses). If you want to be careful, the water valves at the back of the washing machine will shut off when you are away (especially for long periods).
Next, we look at water heater malfunctions, breaks in other plumbing supply lines (sinks, toilets, and refrigerators), floods, sewer line leaks, and, of course, terrible wastewater backups. A few simple precautions will help you avoid too much of it. First, try not to pile or store too much in front of plumbing fixtures. If your water heater looks like a pile of boxes, you won’t know if there’s a small leak – unless you have a major mold problem (yes, we have a mold here too). But this is a different article.) Then, regularly check relevant equipment and contacts for corrosion or moisture.
It must be clean and dry. Also, the same steel braided supply lines are available for other water sources, such as your toilet. Always recommended for plastics. Make sure you know the location of the water shutoff valves in an emergency. To avoid overflowing and backing up – don’t flush anything that isn’t down the toilet, and try not to go away when the water is running – you might get upset and forget.
If you’re at home when a drought occurs, there’s a lot you can do to reduce the damage – turn off the water supplies, drain as much standing water as possible, set up the airflow, and contact a reduction company. When you are away, the damage occurs when you are away from town for an extended period on the job or worse. Unless the water is tested, the more affected area, the greater the damage. Also, within a few days, if left untreated, mold will begin to grow in the affected areas.
