No great hards! ENVIRONMENT ip for us to conserve water Current data has GVRD's - I .6 million residents using 770 litres of water daily WE ARE a simple people, here in the Lower ‘Mainland, but we are final- ly waking up to the fact that our water supplies aren’t unlimited. For years, popular collective ‘thought held that lots of rain equalled lots of drinking water. Full stop. Conserving was for people south of the equator, or hikers down to one canteen on a trip through the Andes. We are now being barraged with information that points out _ the’error of our ways. First off, we've all heard about the lower-than-usual snow pack in the watersheds. and our. re- cord-breaking ‘lack of precipita- tion, If such a situation continues, we » will be entering spring and sum- -mer’s high-water-demand period with low reservoirs that won't be up to the challenge. And even if we did get a good ‘deal of precipitation (as of Mon- . day, the heavens had once again “started to open above the North Shore), our problems aren’t nec- essarily solved, as the storage ca- ‘pacity behind the Seymour and Cleveland dams is less than 10% of the average annual flow from the watersheds into the reservoirs. Thus,: there is.a great deal of spillage. .at these“two locations, especially in’. the fall and the «spring, due to. heavy precipitation “or snow melt. Last summer’s drought, by.the- way, resulted in a review of these two watersheds (the third, the Coquitlam watershed, is the larg- est of the three but not yet as _, heavily drawn on-as a drinking- "water source). : ‘It was discovered. that, in - periods of: drought, the Seymour ‘and Coquitlam ~ reservoirs. can support 10% -fewer people than ‘originally anticipated pounding an: already » Problem. of However, even if it showed all winter and rained steadily for the Fest of the year (heaven forbid!), identified : "there would still be-reasons to conserve water in'our homes. —- “The: greater the demand, the greater the amount. of water that has to be chlorinated, the greater -the’stress on the system and the greater the need to expand infra-- structure as per capita ‘demand — - as well as population — grows. ' Although our annual .water bill is only about $125, the true cost of drinking water is much more _ expensive, . Even without ' capital-intensive Is 3 could “Imagine, the walls come alive with motion and sound! Imagine designing your very own _ |HOME THEATRE! Customized the way you want it! All controlled by a single remote from anywhere in your.home. ‘ the Vancouver area “116,800 com--.. Peggy — Trendell-Whittaker ECO INFO projects looming, such as the Westerly Transfer (which would carry water from the Coquitlam watershed to -western regions of in times of water shortage or high turbidity) or the addition of chlorination or rechlorination facilities, there is a great deal of maintenance and repair work that is needed on the aging system of mains and pipes. And don’t forget the other costs associated with household water use — that is, paying for the sanitary sewer system that trans- ports wastewater from your home to the Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant. Being asked to reduce our water dependence is not a great hard- ship. Each Lower Mainlander cur- rently uses about 770 litres of water daily; by comparison, peo- ple in Edmonton only consume 450 litres per capita ona daily basis. ; If the 1.6 million residents of the GVRD. matched their’ con- sumption to that of the Edmon- tonians, the savings would be litres per person, or 186,880,000,000 (wow!) litres in total, — (For the numerically illiterate, such as myself, that last figure translates to about 187 billion.) The Greater Vancouver Regional District will be im- plementing a four-stage:. water ‘shortage response plan that was originally: researched for use in 1991, but was not needed thanks ' to a wet summer. ‘Much of the plan targets the reduction of lawn sprinkling, since sprinkling accounts for 30 to 40% of summertime demand. Stage 1 of the plan will start April 1. and involves public advi- - sory messages and encouraging maximum once-weekly lawn waterings. Stage 2 would go into effect on EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTTO SEE. EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR! At Star Tek, we'll show you how the future can be yours now! Call us first: 980-9881 Leaders in Home Theatre! A TEN ENTERPRISE 1 Mi NSS AS Se OR SS Oe a ED 1191 WEST 15th Street, NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. aLHONE 980-9881, FAX 980-9811 44 The storage capacity behind the Seymour and Cleveland dams is less than 10% of the average annual flow. 99 the fast) weekend restrict sprinkling to twice per weck, in the early and Jater hours of the day to avoid heat evapora- tion, In Stage 3, which would be im- plemented when a demand for water reduction of between 15 and 25% is required, sprinkling would be allowed only once per week and other excessive water uses, such as hosing of driveways or washing cars without a spring- Joaded shut-off nozzle, would be prohibited. Stage 4, involving a_ total sprinkling ban, would be enacted if even greater water. reduction was required, (Of course, careful conservation in the spring months will delay this date or render Stage 4 altogether unnecessary.) Some exceptions to the Stage 4 ban would be parks, playing fields . and golf courses, where failure to water would result in permanent loss, and drip irrigation systems. Sprinkling’ of new landscaping would be allowed by special per- mit. While I am a lawn-less. soul myself, keepers of, other house- hold greens have told me that last year’s sprinkling restrictions were quite positive experiences. Not nearly ‘as much mowing LS LocaL Down 5 Quis ct better prices than Imported Down! in May and, Velour/Terry ROBES was rcquired, any brown lawns regenerated quickly once the rains came, and decreased watering results in a deeper, more drought-resistant root system. Clearly, there is harnessing our rainwater meets the cye, Residents are invited to becoine familiar with the water system issues as described in the soon- to-be-available Drinking Water Quality improvement Plan, and to comment on these and other regional concerns, such as land use, air quality, and solid. waste than more to- disposal, at an upcoming public consultation being planned by the GVRD. Called Creating Our Future: Critical Choices Consultation, the forum will take place on Satur- day, May 15, at six sites throughout the region, including recCentre Delbrook. Participants will discuss a varie- . ly of regional issues, based on background information provided in a newspaper insert one .week prior to the event. The six sites will be video-link- ed, meaning that each site can hear updates and comments from’ around the region as the day pro- gresscs. Residents can participate from home by watching the live cable coverage, and register their com- ments by telephone or by the writ- ten feedback form that will be in- cluded in the newspaper insert. For more information on the consultation, or to. register, call 436-6954. For more information on drink- ing water issues, call 436-6899, Brass Trim Kit with the purchase of any Legend Gas Fireplace DOUBLE QUEEN STANDARD $9058 Y (2 pillows) (come try one on, _ we won't watch!) reg. 90.98 « oO or $100 offany — foffer ends Legend accessory 3/04/93 MON.-SAT. 10-5 987-1293 ~. 1293 Marine Dr., N.Van. DUNDEE, RIVIERA ® 7 HAND so 55°? FFACE se °2:75 QUEEN’ $93.98 (2 pillows) ye COMPLETE BATHROOM | - Accessories just arrived.