Being Water Smart at Home

The provincial government has outlined a strong target that fifty percent of new municipal water needs will be acquired through conservation by 2020 and water use in B.C. will be 33 percent more efficient across the province.

Government will support these targets with a range of measures to improve the way we use water in our homes, businesses, farms, and communities. Education and outreach about conserving water will help reduce water demands. The B.C. government will look at new ways to help promising water conservation technology succeed.

Water Conservation Calculator Shows Municipalities How to Save Water and Money

The Water Conservation Calculator is an on-line user-friendly tool geared for water purveyors of smaller communities. Its purpose is to illustrate how specific conservation measures yield both fiscal and physical water consumption savings. Smaller communities often cannot allocate resources to traditional infrastructure projects or cannot budget for the development of professional water conservation/efficiency plans. Water purveyors can use the tool to assist in presenting their conservation case to council and other decision makers.

The calculator assists in:

• collecting and recording community water system data;
• preparing useful information about the current state of the water system and future demands;
• comparison of conservation demand management and supply-side upgrade options;
• assistance in more accurately targeting conservation efforts, thereby increasing the cost effectiveness of conservation campaigns;
• offering finance planning for conservation demand management and supply-side upgrades;
• assistance in decision making around new infrastructure (can illustrate the possibility of capital deferment); and
• presenting charting and a printable PDF report based on data inputs, outputs, and benchmark values.

Water conservation should be seen as alternative or supplemental to planned infrastructure projects. In essence, conservation is a resource in its own right. It provides safe, clean, water sooner, that is less costly, and less impactful on the environment than traditional source development or upgrade projects.

» www.waterconservationcalculator.ca

A new B.C. government LiveSmart BC strategy will reward smart choices that will save energy, water, fuel, time and money. If all households reduce water consumption inside and outside the home, the collective reduction can be tremendous. The LiveSmart program operates parallel to the existing federal ecoENERGY program and provides homeowners with “one-window” access to provincial and federal incentives for energy efficiency improvements.

Future household evaluations will provide advice and incentives to residents for reducing water and energy use, and advising on transportation options to reduce environmental impacts.

The B.C. government will promote the installation of inexpensive technology such as low-flow showerheads, tap aerators and dual flush toilets. Evaluations will provide information and tools to help change water use behaviour in the laundry, bathroom, kitchen and garden. Similar programs have been offered in the USA and Australia and have proven remarkably effective in helping residents reduce their water use.

Making new, inexpensive technology such as readily available high efficiency and dual flush toilets mandatory in new homes and renovations makes reducing our water use easy, and decreases demand for treated potable water.  As one of the first steps in the greening of the B.C. Building Code, the Province added a new Code objective for water efficiency. Low-flow plumbing fixtures (for example, 6 L toilets) and fittings  has been mandatory in new construction since 2008. Now B.C. has  further improved the code to save even more water. Effective October 4, 2010, high-efficiency (4.8 litre) toilets or dual-flush toilets will be required in all new residential buildings (or when major renovations occur). In all other occupancies, the requirement for with a maximum flush cycle of 6 litres will remain unchanged. Whenever urinals are installed, high-efficiency (1.9 litre) urinals will be required.

Information on the new standards is online at http://www.housing.gov.bc.ca/building/consultation/het/.

• Media release: Green Standards for Buildings Come Into Effect [PDF 22KB]
  Every new building in B.C. will meet progressive standards for energy and water efficiency beginning Sept. 5…
• Media release: Greener Building Code Will Reduce Energy and Water Use
  New standards for the energy and water efficiency of buildings will lower energy
  and water use and decrease greenhouse gas emissions…

Reusing water means we can save the best water for drinking and take less from the environment. There are many ways to reuse water. One way is to capture rainwater and reuse it for watering gardens. Another way is to install a non-potable water system that recycles water from clothes washing, bathroom sinks and showers and uses it for flushing toilets or landscape irrigation. This reused water is contained in a second set of plumbing pipes that are coloured purple to differentiate it from potable water.

The B.C. government will work with industry to lead the development of a voluntary, water-efficiency labelling system so that products such as clothes washers, toilets, showerheads and taps reveal how much water is used at the point-of-sale. Government will work with manufacturers, retailers and other jurisdictions to ensure the full support of industry. This will be the first such initiative in Canada and it aims to be as recognisable as the successful energy-star rating system for energy efficient products.

When it comes to water efficiency, not all technology is the same. For example, top loading washing machines (clothing) use much more water than comparably priced front loading machines. Water efficiency labelling provides consumer information on water consumption and the relative efficiency of a product. This information can help you to see how one product compares with another product manufactured by a different company, and help you to make the smartest water choices. Water efficiency labelling is already in place across Australia, Europe and parts of the U.S.

Further measures that the B.C. government will introduce to improve water efficiency in B.C. are outlined on Becoming water efficient in B.C.

• Media release: Water Efficiency Labelling Program Will Be Across Canada [PDF 30KB]
  Canadian Premiers have agreed to implement a Water Efficiency Labelling program across Canada to encourage water efficient choices. Water efficient labels on water-using appliances and fixtures will help Canadian consumers make informed, environmentally friendly choices about products such as clothes washers, toilets and showerheads. This will ultimately reduce our Nation’s water consumption.