Waterworks Blog
Turn over a new leaf: composting beats burning
November 28, 2011Fall: It’s the time of year when trees put on their coats of many colors; apples fill the bins at roadside stands, carved pumpkins decorate porches, and thick, cough-inducing smoke fills the air. It’s not hard to figure out which of these things doesn’t belong, but for some, burning leaves — despite regulations banning the…
Reducing global warming, one meal at a time
November 9, 2011We want your table scraps! A recent food-waste disposal study has found that using an in-sink garbage disposer can help reduce global warming. According to a write-up about the study, “a community of 30,000 households could avoid the equivalent of more than 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions if most of its food scraps went…
Safety tricks for a treat-filled Halloween
October 26, 2011During the Halloween season, the most frightening thing we can think of is a trick-or-treater getting hurt. So please, before your little pumpkins head out to scare up some candy, take some time to make sure they’ve got safety in the bag first. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has a great collection of tips to get you…
Check for a toilet leak on the cheap
October 24, 2011Did you know that a leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons a day? That’s an expensive problem! Fortunately, fixing it can cost as little as $8. To find out if a toilet is flushing your money down the drain, remove the lid and add a few drops of food coloring — dark colors work…
Fire safety is no accident
October 12, 2011Have you ever thought about what you’d do if there were a fire in your home? Do you have an escape plan? Have you practiced it with your family? Do you have a working smoke alarm in every room? If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, your chances of becoming a fire statistic…
What’s the Marcellus Shale?
October 4, 2011Lately, it seems like the terms “Marcellus Shale” and “fracking” are popping up everywhere. There’s a lot of information — and misinformation — and it remains a hot-button topic among environmentalists, lawmakers, and the general public alike. So what, exactly, is this chunk of rock everyone’s talking about? The Marcellus is a layer of black…
Recovering from — and preparing for — storms
September 25, 2011As Lehigh County Authority’s service area recovers from flooding caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee — the worst in the state since 1972’s Hurricane Agnes — we wanted to ensure our customers know where to turn for help. If your home or business has been affected, download this handy PDF guide to navigating state…
Turning trash into treasure
September 17, 2011Waste is a fact of life. In the kitchen, it doesn’t matter whether you’re slicing a tomato or cutting up a cucumber, peeling an apple or paring a pear, there are leftover skins and seeds to scrap. There are coffee grounds to contend with; eggshells to eliminate; paper towels to pitch. Then there’s all the…
Keeping it clean (and green)
August 19, 2011If you want to lead a more “green” lifestyle, one of the easiest places to start is the cabinet where you keep cleaning supplies. Though it may seem counter-intuitive, many household cleaners contain highly toxic substances. Examples include formaldehyde, which can be found in furniture polish and is considered a carcinogen by the World Health…
Safe drinking water saves lives
August 15, 2011In a recent report on global health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed access to clean water and sanitation as one of the top global health achievements in the last 10 years. The report, which can be found in its entirety here, cites increased access to improved drinking water sources for more than…