How To Green Your Water

Do Your Part to Protect Our Precious Water Resources

Water is one of the earth's most precious resources. In Greater Vancouver we're fortunate to have a greater water supply than most large cities. However, with global warming our yearly rainfall will become more unpredictable. Already in the summer months, many municipalities have had to impose water conservation measures. The rest of the world is not as fortunate as Vancouver. Water scarcity is an increasingly serious problem and it won't be long before other countries will be putting pressure on BC to sell its pressure water supplies. Do your part to conserve water and never allow the privatization of BC's water supplies.

1. Lower the Cost of Water Heating

Water heating is often the 3^rd largest home energy expense. Here are some inexpensive ways to reduce that expense:

• Turn down the thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees
• Insulate your water heater
• Exchange your old water heater for a newer more efficient model
• Make sure you repair leaky faucets
• Buy water-efficient showerheads: you'll still get a powerful spray for a comfortable shower but you'll use up to 30% less water says Natural Resources Canada. http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/new-homes/water-conservation.cfm?attr=4

2. Reduce Water Consumption

It's easy to conserve water when you follow some basic daily practices.  These are small steps but together they will add up.

• Turn the water off and on while brushing your teeth or shaving instead of letting the water run down the drain

• Only run dishwashers and clothes washers on full loads.

• Fix leaky faucets, and install low-flow faucets and shower heads

• Wash clothes in cold water-they will still be clean, and they'll last longer, too.

• Drop the need to have a big green lawn. Replace your lawn with drought-resistant plants. Watering lawns unnecessarily is one of the biggest ways homeowners' waste water.

3. Buy Efficient Water Appliances

Save water and energy by installing low-flush toilets, faucet aerators, low flow faucets and shower heads. These will take only minutes to install and the cost will range from $10 to 30 dollars. These small investments will save you money on your water and water heating bill for years to come. In some municipalities there's been talk of installing water meters where residents are charged by the amount of water they use. Be proactive and minimize your water usage now.

Older toilets were designed to be huge water wasters. If you have an older model (pre 1994) reduce the water flow by filling an empty plastic bottle with water, recap it, and place it in the tank. This simple solution can reduce the flow by 40% says the University of Florida, and still maintain enough water for a good flush.

4. Invest in Some Water Saving Fixtures

Put some big cisterns under your downspouts to collect rainwater from the roof. You can then use the water on the garden during the summer. This will come in handy during long, dry spells. Watering the garden is often rationed in the summer so if you're a garden lover a cistern will be a handy tool. Cisterns come in all shapes and sizes and can be placed above ground or underground.

5. Use Smart Water-Saving Renovations

If you're planning to pave your driveway use permeable paving which lets water soak into the ground instead of washing away.

6. Drop the Bottled Water Habit

The belief that bottled water is better for you than tap water is often simply not true. In some cases, the bottled water really is a scam. It may come from the tap instead of a mountain stream, and you may get other ingredients with it you don't want. Coca-Cola apparently adds salt to its Dasani water http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasani

to try and make it taste better. Worse yet, numerous studies have discovered that bottled water products may contain chemicals leaked from the plastic bottle such as phthalates, or Bisphenol A . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottled_water

Bottling the water, refrigerating it, and trucking it across the country requires a lot of energy and thus incurs a huge environmental footprint. Many plastic bottles end up discarded and never recycled. Even if they are recycled, it's an unnecessary use of energy when you could have simply brought the water with you.

Filter your tap water yourself then pour into stainless steel containers and carry your water bottle with you.

7. Choose an Eco-Friendly Car Wash

New environmentally friendly car washes are more efficient with their water usage then you can be when you wash your car at home. See Easywash in North Vancouver for example. http://easywash.com/

Progressive car washes also treat their water instead of letting it run into local sewers and waterways. If you must wash your car at home please use biodegradable soaps-the fish in local streams and waterways will appreciate it.

8. Detox Your Water

Respect your local ecosystems. Never pour chemicals down drains, or flush drugs down toilets. Try to keep your own self off drugs. Our sewer systems don't have the ability to neutralise drugs. Thus, what you release eventually ends up in our ocean and is toxic to local ecosystems.