[All] Great Water Article!

[Kevin Thomason]

Congratulations to Bob Burtt on the great water article in the Record today!  It is wonderful to see that the Record has an environmental reporter again (well for one day at least...).

It is wonderful to see this important issue covered in the press and hopefully it can become the foundation of important dialog moving forward.

Keep up the great work and writing!

Cheers,
Kevin.

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Aggressive water conservation could cancel pipeline plan

Some time this year, Waterloo Region will complete work on a new long-term water supply plan, aimed at determining how best to satisfy the thirst of a growing region.

Early indications suggest it will, among other things, call for dramatic increases in water conservation and delay the construction of a pipeline from Lake Erie.

The region anticipates cutting household consumption from about 229 litres per day to someplace between 150 litres and 170 litres per day.

By focusing on conservation, the region believes it can defer construction of the pipeline until decades after 2035, when it was once thought to be required. Deferring the pipeline, estimated to cost north of $1 billion, would save the region a tonne of money.

The planned reduction might seem like a challenge enough for a region that already uses considerably less than the national average. But environmental groups are calling for even greater savings, and they have good reason to do so.

Aggressive water conservation would be much more than a feel-good exercise for residents. Done properly, it has the potential to not only defer but to cancel plans for the pipeline.

The Grand River Environmental Network, a local environmental group, believes that with aggressive conservation, the region wouldn’t need any new sources of water from the lake or any other source.

The region already promotes water conservation through programs such as toilet replacement, water-efficient garden seminars, rain barrel distribution, water efficient technology programs, leak detection programs and a water conservation bylaw that restricts the outdoor use of water during the summer months.

Research by the Polis Water Sustainability Project suggests that household use could easily be cut to 150 litres a day, and with even more aggressive measures to as low as 72 litres a day.

Volunteers with the Grand River Environmental Network support aggressive conservation measures.

“We think what is needed is a strategy that goes beyond standard measures such as replacing toilets and encouraging the use of efficient appliances and focusing on more aggressive strategies,” says John Jackson, chair of the network.

Jackson wants the region to look at ways to harvest water from rooftops and use it to flush toilets. That would make homeowners less dependent on municipal water supplies and would require the redesign of water pipes.

That’s something that should start with new construction, where it would be less expensive than trying to make renovations in existing homes, he says.

Steve Gombos, manager of water efficiency for the region, says the region will be looking at grey water systems and a wide variety of other measures when it updates its water efficiency plan next year.

Gombos said he expects the region will continue to target leaks, possibly run a program on residential audits, and educate people on ways about the care and operation of water softeners and humidifiers in homes.

While rainwater harvesting and the reuse of grey water will be considered, Gombos fears the work and cost involved are prohibitive for the ordinary guy.

“I’m not sure what kind of uptake we would have.”

As for the pipeline, there remain a lot of unanswered questions.

The Grand River Environmental Network questions the need for the project, doubts that the prospect of drawing water from a troubled lake will be popular and thinks that the idea of chasing water down the Grand River only to pump it back at great expense makes little sense.

Published reports in The Record have pointed out the irony in a situation that sees water rates go up while conservation causes consumption to go down.

While it is true that revenues fall when less water is sold, it is dangerous to over simplify a complicated situation.

Danielle Bruyer, manager of finance and administration in the water department, says there is no way of knowing what impact water conservation has on rising rates.

Bruyer explains conservation is but one of a number of factors that contribute to lower revenues. “The weather can play a big role and so can economic conditions,” she points out. “On wet years there is less demand to water lawns or gardens.”

In good economic times new businesses open and in bad times some fail, causing less water to be used and less revenue.

Schneiders Foods (owned Maple Leaf Foods) will no doubt cause revenues to tumble when that plant finally closes in 2014. The huge meat-packing plant in Kitchener is typically among the top three water users in the region

But its demise will be the result of business decisions and will have nothing to do with water conservation programs.

On the other side of the coin, conservation has played and will play a role in deferring expensive plans to extend water pipes and new infrastructure that is required to run the system. In those instances, rate increases are prevented or eased.

Putting off work that might have been needed today for another five or 10 years means that spending thousands and some times millions of dollars can be avoided or deferred.

The Lake Erie water pipeline is a case in point. If the region decided to go ahead with that megaproject in 2035, the region would have to begin raising rates now to save money to help offset the $1-billion plus that would be needed down the road.

Deferring, or better yet, cancelling that project would save more than even the most ambitious water conservation plan would cost.

Bob Burtt is a former environmental reporter with The Waterloo Region Record.

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