Water Marks

How much water your household can save will depend on the number of water using appliances and fixtures in your home and, most importantly, how you use them.

According to the most recent Statistics Canada figures (1996), the typical Canadian household comprises 3.1 people. Assuming a per capita consumption rate of 326 litres per day, the typical Canadian household would use about 7100 litres per week, just for indoor use. Add another 2000 litres per week averaged over the year for lawn and garden watering and car washing. The total is about 472 000 litres per year!

In the bathrooms, converting to 6 litre per flush toilets and 9.5 litre per minute showerheads (and modifying a few water using habits) could achieve an impressive 2000 litres per week savings.

Using the washing machine and the dishwasher more efficiently could cut water use by 100 litres per week.

In the outdoors, following the steps outlined in this guide could result in savings of about 1000 litres per week.

Altogether, that's a savings of about 3100 litres per week, or about 160 000 litres (160 cubic metres) per year – just over a 35% reduction!

Another point to remember is that you can add the savings from reduced water heating costs to these savings. And, as prices rise, so will the savings.

You get high water marks – by saving water, energy and money, and protecting the environment – if you follow the steps outlined in this guide. By starting right away, you're on the road to making water conservation in the home a comfortable, familiar and reassuring habit.

The bottom line? Water conservation is both painless, in terms of its impacts on our lifestyles and pocketbooks, and priceless, in terms of its environmental benefits for ourselves and future generations.

Based on 1996 rates for metered users (combining a water and sewer charge), what would this 160 cubic metre reduction in yearly household water use represent in dollars in selected cities across Canada? Let's look at: Victoria, British Columbia; Edmonton, Alberta; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Toronto, Ontario; Sherbrooke, Quebec; and Halifax, Nova Scotia:

Victoria	$54.40	@  $0.34/cu.m.
Edmonton	$256.00	@  $1.60/cu.m.
Winnipeg	$225.60	@  $1.40/cu.m.
Toronto	$160.82	@  $1.00/cu.m.
Sherbrooke	$76.65	@  $0.48/cu.m.
Halifax	$90.22	@  $0.56/cu.m.

* Average price (residential water and sewer) calculated at 25 cu.m./month.
Source: Municipal Water Use Database, 1996.

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