How do you define "wasted" water?

[RossW]

I am not on city water, I am on a well.

I have been avoiding an RO/DI unit for two reasons, "waste" water and extra effort.  I recently had an epiphany and realised I have been "wasting" water for years, and my daily "waste" makes RO/DI "waste" look like a drop in the bucket

I have a Water Furnace/Geothermal heat pump http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pump and by design it sucks and spit water from the ground, and I am sure "wastes" many many gallons a minute when it is on...  I never considered this "waste" water before as all it does is suck the water from the ground, extract/add a little heat from/to it and return it to where it came from.  My system is an "open loop", so I am not cycling the same water like a rad.

How do you define "waste"/"wasted" water?

[Funkmotor]

When you say it's an open loop, does that mean you're drawing water from a well and then just dumping it on the ground outside (or similar), or do you pump the water back underground?

[RossW]

The furnace draws water from a well, and then dumps in under the furnace into a different well, I don't know if it is shallow or deep.  I suspect it is shallow and could just be 10' deep filled with crushed stone.

When you say it's an open loop, does that mean you're drawing water from a well and then just dumping it on the ground outside (or similar), or do you pump the water back underground?

[bitterman]

This is not really a waste, just borrowing for a sec or two j/k......

Its going back were you got it from  sorta..........

Bruce

[RossW]

So do we define "wasting" water when it requires processing to be consumed?  i.e.: if I was on city water there would have been processing and other things which were done to get the water to me.  That processing and transportation is not free, monetary and pollutant.  Is that what we mean by wasting water?  Regardless, it is still water at the end of it!  I wish I had debated this with my parents many many years ago when they used to ask me to have shorter showers to save water.

I guess I am "wasting" electricity when I pump water from my well, but overall it is less energy than would be consumed by a natural gas or electric furnace.

This is not really a waste, just borrowing for a sec or two j/k......

Its going back were you got it from  sorta..........

Bruce

[bitterman]

You will be using more electricity then the other way of doing geothermal (looped pipes under the ground) but the problem with that system is they often have a leaking issue (Some use alcohol bases and other use anti-freeze) no mater what it is it ends up in the environment In your case your less likely to contaminant the earth.

Bruce