U.S. Water News Online
PHILADELPHIA -- You can tell humans to cut back on water consumption during a drought, but just try giving that order to a three-ton elephant.
As people are being asked to take shorter showers and hold off watering their lawns because of water shortages, zoo officials nationwide say they have to be creative in conservation efforts because local health regulations restrict them from cutting back on water used for animals.
From high-pressure hoses used for cleaning to huge pools full of entirely recycled water to the elimination of water as a plaything, zoos are trying to find ways to save water as communities become increasingly aware of droughts and how new development is drawing down water tables.
At the Philadelphia Zoo, which used about 620 million gallons of water over the past year, workers have tried to conserve by revamping huge pools so they use recycled water. The 42-acre zoo is in Philadelphia, which, like many parts of southeastern Pennsylvania, is under a drought emergency.
Andy Baker, vice president for animal programs at the zoo, said officials hope to have all pools using recycled water within two years.
``Our focus is really on the long term,'' Baker said. ``Everyone becomes more conscious of these things in a drought situation.''
The zoo is required to clean the cages every day and provide animals with ample drinking water -- elephants can chug up to 50 gallons a day. Workers have begun using special irrigation systems to save water and cut back on watering plants.
Philadelphia is not alone. The Denver Zoo has been aggressively looking for ways to save water for about two years, spokeswoman Ana Bowie said.
While the animals must be cleaned, keepers now bathe large animals using the ``Navy shower'' concept, by turning the water on only when necessary.
And at a time when the area faces a water shortage, Bowie said one of the elephants' favorite playtime activities has also been stopped: no more getting sprayed for fun.
``This is really the first hard time we've been hit with,'' she said.
One of the world's most well-known zoos, the San Diego Zoo, is implementing similar measures. While the zoo isn't under specific restrictions now, it has been asked by the state to cut back as much as possible, San Diego Zoo spokeswoman Yadira Galindo said.
Galindo said that, over the past decade, the zoo reduced its water usage by 75 percent. Right now, she said, the major focus is on doing a complete overhaul of all pools, so they all use entirely recycled water.
``We can't be just dumping that water on a daily basis,'' Galindo said of the zoo's pools, some of which hold more than 130,000 gallons of water.
The zoo, which has 4,000 animals and is famous for its rare species of pandas, crocodiles and other animals, is also experimenting with other methods of saving water, including waterless urinals that are being used by zoo employees and visitors.
At the zoo-affiliated San Diego Wild Animal Park, there is also a plant that treats up to 6 million gallons of human wastewater a year to irrigate the park.
Lindsay Nantz, a spokeswoman for the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, said sometimes water conservation means just cutting back on watering plants.
``The animal's well-being is our first concern,'' Nantz said. ``We're going to cut back everywhere else before we cut back there.''
The Fort Worth Zoo last faced water restrictions in July 2001 and she said the zoo has focused on watering plants less and replacing old pools with ones that use recycled water. In some cases, workers have found that old systems were wasting hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. So, the zoo recently put up a $20 million building with a water filtration system to cut down on water waste.
At the Bronx Zoo in New York City, officials also said systems need to be upgraded.
General curator Jim Doherty said the zoo is still working on making all its pools use recirculated water and to install automatically refilling drinking containers for animals. Water has also been turned off at waterfalls and a well-known fountain at its entrance, one donated by the Rockefeller family.
``Everything else is just being sensible,'' Doherty said.
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