Water Conservation Tips for TNRD Residents SPENCES BRIDGE

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1 Water Conservation Tips for TNRD Residents SPENCES BRIDGE Do You Know Your Drinking Water Source? Before: Murray Creek Now: Well Source on Cook s Ferry IB Do You Know What Costs Are Associated to Supplying Drinking Water? Reducing waste prevents sending water, energy and money down the drain. Before: Chlorination/Distribution & Maintenance Now: Pumping/Chlorination/Distribution & Maintenance. Do You Know Who Supplies Your Drinking Water? Before: TNRD, on your behalf. Now: Joint Venture with Cook s Ferry IB. LIVE WATER SMART Please join us and be a WATER HERO and be part of the solution, when we take care of our water, it takes care of us! Murray Creek Source It will take a collective effort to make this vision a reality. We must all work together to protect water sources, manage water demands, modernize water systems and infrastructure and live water smart.

2 Left to Right: Wilfred Paul-Cook s Ferry IB; Chief Dave Walkem; Arden Bolton-TNRD; Ann Weller-TNRD; Al Midgley-TNRD; Terry Sulpher-Mountain Side Earthmoving.; Shawn Kratchmer-TNRD; Ken Nystoruk-TNRD; Ernie Carson-Gentech; Scott Bepple-Gentech; H. Lynn Breaker-Cook s Ferry IB Cook s Ferry IB Well Site/Pump house Water Tips o By conserving water, we reduce the need for new infrastructure such as larger pipes and oversized water treatment plants. This will help avoid the negative impacts of over consumption and save the community money. It's much less expensive to conserve water than it is to get it from a new supply source. For every glass of water we save, we have to produce and treat one less glass from our rivers. o Avoid watering in windy or hot conditions, when the vast majority of water will be lost to evaporation. (Don t water between 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, the hottest parts of the day.) o Use a broom to sweep driveways and paths instead of the garden hose. It's also a great way to get exercise. o Make sure to take your vehicle to a car wash that recycles its water and treats it before it's returned to the environment. If you must give the car a quick wash at home, use a trigger nozzle to prevent wasted water and wash the car over grass. The lawn will act as a natural filter that removes many of the soap chemicals before the water makes its way back to our lakes and streams. o Apply a layer of mulch on your garden beds and leave the grass a little bit longer. You ll save resources by watering less frequently and mowing the lawn less often. o Collect rainwater for watering the garden. Watering the roots of your plants, instead of the leaves, is a more efficient method e.g. drip irrigation. o Consider plants species that require less water and don't over water your lawn. Only run your clothes and dish washers when fully loaded. Repair dripping faucets and leaky toilets (one drip per second wastes over 3,000 gallons per year). o Share your smart water choices with friends and neighbours, so everyone can work together to conserve water.

3 o Shower under a low flow showerhead. o Replace your toilet with a low flow model. Choose one that uses 6 litres or less per flush.

4 Sustaining Our Infrastructure By infrastructure, we mean the water treatment plants that purify our water, the water mains in the ground that transport water, and the towers and reservoirs that store water. The term includes the sewer pipes that carry away wastewater and the sewage treatment plants that treat wastewater before returning it to the environment where it often becomes the source of water for communities downstream. This figure illustrates municipal water supply and sewage treatment: While many communities have access to an abundant water supply, the costs of the infrastructure that provides homes and industry with water and sewer services are straining the available municipal financial resources. Experts are predicting a growing problem involving municipal water and sewer infrastructure in Canada. In 1991, the value of this investment was estimated to be worth over 90 billion dollars, of which a significant amount is deteriorating with age. An increasing number of Canadian municipalities are considering water conservation as the key to keeping expansion needs to a minimum. Water conservation also optimizes plant efficiency, while assisting municipalities in financing the replacement of infrastructure that may be over 50 years old in some communities and up to 100 years old in several others. Communities with older systems in need of extensive repairs or replacement face the most difficult problems. With all levels of government adopting policies of realistic water pricing and user pay principles, many municipalities have instituted full cost pricing to recover the total cost of providing both water and sewer services -- including the costs of financing the replacement of older systems and the upgrading of overloaded treatment plants. Higher municipal costs, in turn, mean higher water -- and sewer -- bills. The problem of stressed treatment systems is not restricted to communities with piped water and sewer systems. Over the past 25 years, there has been a substantial migration of urban dwellers to the countryside. City-bred water using habits and attitudes are, in many instances, lowering the water table. And, the flood of wastewater produced is stressing the soil's ability to treat septic effluent adequately. For both urban and rural communities, water conservation can extend the life of this over-stressed infrastructure.

5 The Bottom Line On Water Conservation The message is clear. If we each save a little, it can add up to major savings in water, energy and money. For the average household, reductions in water use as high as 40 % or more are feasible, just by following the steps outlined on the preceding pages. The benefits don't stop at the household or business. The municipal water and sewer department gets a break on the amount of water it has to pump to our homes and businesses and on the amount of wastewater it has to treat in sewage treatment plants. Water conservation can extend the useful life of municipal water supply and treatment plants, and will benefit the operating efficiency -- and life expectancy -- of private septic disposal systems. And, finally, water conservation can generate significant environmental benefits. It can reduce water diverted and the pollution loadings on our lakes and rivers by reducing the volumes of wastewater which we have to treat. This can help to protect our drinking water and the ecological balance in sensitive aquatic ecosystems. If we all practice water conservation, everyone -- and everything -- benefits.