Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Water Conservation Policy in Urban Ontario
Water Conservation Policy in Urban Ontario
• Water is a key component of Canada’s economy and the livelihood of
the environment
• Canada ranked 129 of 143 countries in a water use index measuring
domestic water use efficiency
• 40% of Canada’s freshwater is available to ~ 8590% of the Canadian
population (80% urban)
• 60% drain to the north
• Water conservation is the most cost effective and environmentally
sound way to reduce our demand for fresh water
• Water conservation: the preservation and careful management of
water resources
Issue Justification
“Water restrictions are
unpalatable to Ontarians and we
are stuck in our old assumptions
of abundant water, and cannot
bring ourselves to impose water
restrictions, even when
restrictions are clearly needed.”
(Gordon Miller, Ontario Environmental Commissioner)
Dried out stream in Ontario
Issue Justification
(CON’T)
• Without effective urban water conservation strategies, town
and city water use patterns are problematic:
1. Water shortages and groundwater drawdown
2. Effects on the natural capacity of rivers and lakes to deal with
pollutants
3. Strain on water and water infrastructure and services
4. Aging water and wastewater infrastructure
5. Precautionary Principle
Environmental Impacts:
Benefits
1. Sustaining our supply
• Protecting our future
water supply
• Protecting ecosystem
and habitat
1. Sustaining our water
quality
2. Energy savings
Policy Directions
There are two possible policy directions:
1. Environment
• Conservation for environmental
purposes
2. Economical
• Reducing pressure on water services
Regulatory Instruments
• There are many different policy tools
that could be used in water
conservation
• Regulatory instruments
• Bylaws
• Limitations
• Tough Love
• Sometimes marketbased or regulatory
strategies just not that effective
• Focus: Limitations
• Case: City of Kamloops
Market-Based Strategies
• It’s human nature
• We need an incentive
• Money is very influential
• Main Tool: Pricing
• Nothing is free
• Flat rate
• Standard consistent rate, based off estimations of
consumption and cost of providing the service
• Easy to implement, but provides no incentive for users to
conserve
• Ex. Peterborough Utilities Corporation
Market-Based Strategies
(Con’t)
Volumetric
•
Price charged per unit of water consumed
•
Requires metering, which can be expensive
•
Provides an incentive to water users
•
Other incentives
•
Pricing Schemes
Comparing Pricing
Strategies
Assessing Water Pricing
Benefits
• Provides an incentive
• Revenue generating
• Often for government
• Spurs conservation
• Economics can be effective!
Assessing Water Pricing
Drawbacks
• Increase costs • How to price it use of
economics
• Utility regulations
• Not too high, not to low
• Utility companies • Use of Economics
often can not gain
• Boo! Economics is scary
profit over water
supply • Money ain’t green...
• Ethics
• Difficult to implement
• Can we put a price on
• Metering water?
Voluntary Instruments
• Voluntary Conservation? Does it work?
• Public Education and Outreach: Looking at
Guelph
• Websites, workshops, seminars, water efficient
demonstration gardens>>> informing the
community about the current incentives and
funding that is available to them.
• Youth Education: the age group of 1319 years
is the highest user of water relative to other
age groups
Stakeholders
• General Public
• Residences
• Corporations / Industry
• Government
• Federal
• Provincial
• Municipal
General Public
• 52% of water in municipal sector is used for
residential or domestic purposes
• Daily water activities include toilet flushing,
showering and lawn watering = 65% of water use
• Approximately 2/3 of urban water use in the US is
attributable to inhouse use, and most of that is
utilized by toilets (36%), bath and shower (28%), and
the washing machine (20%)
• Low economic value (where is the conversation
ethic?)
• Supply side management = public is not as involved
Water Uses per Day
• Toilets 81L/day 30%
• Faucets 55L/day 21%
• Clothes washer 47L/day 18%
• Shower 45L/day 17%
• Bath 4.4L/day 1.7%
• Dishwasher2.8L/day 1.1%
• Unknown 5.5L/day 2.1%
• Leakage 20L/day 7.8%
The Agenda: Where do
We Go From Here?
• Water efficient technology and its glory
• Ultra low flow toilets use 6 litres of water
versus 13
• Public involvement will be higher if there
is a compelling motivation to protect the
natural environment while saving money
at the same time. Ok, but how?
• Demand side management
Looking at California
• California Urban Water Conservation
Council and Best Management Practices
Corporate / Industry
Users
• Largest users of fresh water supplies in Canada
• Thermal power generation 64%
• Ex. Nuclear, coal, wasteincineration
• private and governmentowned corporations
• Manufacturing 14%
• Ex. Intel computer chip 75L; Toyota Corolla 3000L
• Commercial businesses 24%, but 20% of municipal water
• Municipal industrial 1.9%, but 16% of municipal; water
•The Private Sector is a BIG player!
Commercial / Industry
Interests & Influence
• The financial bottom line
• The triple bottomline?
• Economic crises?
• Quality Products
• Keeping the customer happy
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• Environmental Management Strategies (EMS)
• Major employers
• Often have massive government lobbies
• Business as usual...
• Is this changing?
Government
• Different Roles of the Government
• Federal
• Federal Responsibilities (DFO, Environment Canada)
• Acts / legislation to help protect water & programs
• Provincial
• MOE (Ministry of the Environment), MNR (Ministry of Natural
Resources), OMAF (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Foods) &
Ontario Power Generation
• Acts / legislation
• Municipal
• Water supply, drinking water and pricing
• Conservation authorities
• Resource users, stewardship organizations & NGOs
City of Toronto compared
to City of Guelph
Toronto Guelph
City of Toronto
Background
• 1991 a Water Conservation Strategy, have suggested
that water demands could be reduced by 1020% by
2011.
• In 1993, Metro Council chose to adopt a 15% water
reduction target by 2011
• Since 1996, Province of Ontario has mandated the
use of waterefficient toilets and showerheads in all
new construction through the Ontario Building
Code (OBC)
• Results in ‘natural’ reduction in the projected 2011
demands by 62 Mega L/day
Projected Demands with
and with OBC
2011 Demands 2011 Demands Difference
(without OBC) (with OBC) between
without and
with OBC
Peak Day 2,245 ML/d 2,183 ML/d 62 ML/d
• Municipal • Singlefamily residential
• System leak detection • Toilet replacement
• Computer controlled • Clothes washers
irrigation • Outdoor water audits
• Watering restrictions • ICI
• Multiunit residential • Toilet replacement
• Toilet Replacement (public • Clothes washers
& private housing)
• Outdoor & indoor water
• Clothes washers audits
• Outdoor water audits
City of Guelph
Background and
Objectives
• Population growth and increased industrial activities have lead to a greater
demand on Guelph’s Aquifer
• The Guelph developed the Water Conservation and Efficiency Study which
recommended to reclaim critical groundwater resources, to limited the impacts of
peak seasonal water demands and to meet the needs of the community
stakeholders.
• The Master plan (Water Supply Master Plan) identified sustainable growth
potential in the city reliance upon the success of aggressive water conservation and
efficiency programs.
• Water use reduction targets identified through the Master Plan process includes:
• Reduction of 10% average daily water consumption by 2010
• Reduction of 15% average daily water consumption by 2015
• Reduction of 20% average daily water consumption by 2025
Programs
• Royal Flush Toilet Replacement
• Smart Wash Rebate Program
• Water efficiency pack from the city
• Water Leaks/Repairs
• Outdoor Water Use Program
Education is the most important thing
Case Studies
Nibiton, Ontario Aquaton,
Ontario
Background to Nibiton&
Aquaton
Nibiton Aquaton
• Population: 1,000,000 • Population: 115,000
• Gets water from: Large lake south • Gets water from: aquifer
in front of them
• Situation faced with: massive
• Situation faced with: slowly withdrawals have lead to problems
degrading water infrastructure with over consumption, worried
which subsequently restrains about the future of there water
demands
• Will there be enough?
• Can they withstand the demand?
• Policy direction: environmental
• Policy direction: economic
Policy Tools Recall
• Voluntary
• Educational campaigns
• Regulatory
• Limitation • Websites
• ByLaws
MarketBased • Seminars
•
• Pricing
• Subsidies
• Incentives through rebates and tax credits
Challenges &
Opportunities
Final Thoughts
THE END