28 — Friday, July 3, 1992 — North Shore News.

Average Water Consumption

Practising water conservation inside

ACCORDING TO the latest reports, ‘our three local water
reservoirs will run dry some time this fall if we continue

our current rate of water consumption.

Watering has been suspended in
‘many areas in Vancouver’s parks,
and individual municipalities may
begin banning residential sprinkl-
ing until the water shortage is al-
leviated.

Landscape maintenance is in-
deed a major water drain, and last

Peggy
Trendell- Whittaker

week’s column mentioned ways to.

reduce water usage in one’s yard
and garden.

This week, we'll look at the
great number of painless ways one
can save water inside the home.

Practising water conservation
may seem somewhat foreign to
usually rain-sodden Van-
couverites, but the following
habits are important to develop

and should be continued’ even &

when water levels have normalized
— after all, even when there is
lots: of water to spare, it costs
money and energy to treat it and
deliver it to our homes.

About 73% of a household's
water consumption is due to water
use in the bathroom — each toilet
flush alone consumes over five
gallons of water.

Try out the following tips in
your bathroom to drasticaliy
teduce your overall water usage:
elInstall water-saving
showerheads. They are easy to in-
stall, and don’t decrease the water
pressure or enjoyment you get
from your shower. And
remember, try to keep your
shower short! .

@ Weigh down a plastic bottle
with some pebbles and put it in-
side your toilet tank to displace
water and cut down on the
amount of water a toilet uses with

every flush. By doing this, you.

cas’ save many litres of water each
day. .

@ Check your toilet for leaks by
putting a little food coloring in
the tank. If the color seeps

through to the water in the bow!,

you have a leak that should be
repaired.

e Don’t use the toilet as a gar-
bage can! Flushing facial tissues,

ECO INFO

cigarette butts and other small ob-".

jects wastes water.

© When you're brushing your
teeth, don’t let the water run
while you’re scrubbing. Just wet
your brush and then turn off the
taps until they’re needed again.

@ The same goes for shaving. Fill
the bottom of the bathroom sink
for rinsing your razor instead of
letting the water run continuously,

‘@ Whether in the bathroom or
the kitchen, check faucets and
pipes for leaks, even the smallest
of which can waste over 20
gallons of water per day.

If you’ve found a leak, here are
the instructions for fixing it if
you’ve got a basic faucet:

1. Turn off water supply
faucet.

2. Remove decorative cover and
handle.

3. Remove collar or locknut.

_4. Take out stem.

5. Replace washer. Be sure to use
the correct size and type of
washer.

&. Reverse the process to reassem-
ble and turn water supply back
on.

In other areas of the house, try
to remember the following:

to

Our Green Planet

Recipes for a cleaner, healthier environment .

Before 3 you purchase expen-
owe chemical carpet clean-
ers, try this environmen-
tally fnendly mernod,
Your carpet, your”
wallet, and your

planet wall love

_ Carpet Cleaning

Ingredients:
2 cups commmeal
l cup borax
baking soda

Mix the commeal with the borax aud oprmkle
over your carpet. Let stand for a V2 hour
aid then sprinkle with pakwtg eda to decdor-
1zé carpets. Let stand for V2 hour oid
vacuum. Cold club soda can be used to cleat
freshly stamed carpets.

| NATURAL GAS MONTHLY
INCOME FUND

15 Year minimum’
f 25 Year proven potential, substantial Natural Gas reserves in BC.
= Minimum Projected Retun: 16.7% after tax
W $5,000 per unit — minimum 5 units
§ Major Bank financing available on approved credit

For further information contact:

} Coastline Gas Income Fund Ltd.
| Phone 685-6600 Fax: 685-6601

This advertisement does not constitute an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy
+f] a security which can only be made by offering memorandum.

@ Dishwashers are the must
water-conscious way to wash
dishes, but only when they. are
turned on only after they have
reached capacity. Washing half-
loads is a water-waster.

@ Make sure you’re using your
clothes washer for full loads, as
well.

@ if you wash dishes by hand,
don’t leave the water running for
rinsing. If you have two sinks, fill

* one with soapy water and one

with rinse water.

If you have only one sink,
gather washed dishes in a rack
and rinse them with a spray device
or a panful of hot water.

- @ Don’t let the tap run when you

are cleaning vegetables. Just rinse
them ‘in a stoppered sink or a pan
of clean water.

@ Keep a bottle of drinking water

in the fridge, instead of running

Female passengers who trave!
alone at night may feel anxiety
when walking from a bus stop to

their final destination.

the tap water until it’s cool. This
makes the water taste better, too.

@ Put water to more than one
use. For example, if you’ve decid-
ed to fill up a plastic pool for the
kids (a luxury perhaps, but a
much-needed one on some of
these sweltering days), use the
water later to water the plants that
are getting droopy. Water from
the kitchen can sometimes be used ©
to water your houseplants.

Water is one of our amazing
resources that we tend to under-
value, both because it is delivered
to us so cheaply and .because
we’re used to. having a plentiful
supply. .

However, thinking about the
1.7 billion people in the world
who live without an adequate
supply of drinking water should GVAD estimates on average -

N
=]
4

b J

2
a.

Afillions of Litres Per Day
free

1
1100

ic a ee ee ee ee
1983,'84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91

make cutting our own usage back water consumption over the |

far easier. past decade.

_ BC Transit’s Request Stop service
will help to reduce this anxiety by
allowing them to get off the bus closer
{o their destinations, reducing the time
spent waiking on the street alone.
Starting Friday, June 26, |
BC Transit and West Vancouver
Municipal Transit will begin a six
month Request Stog trial in North
and West Vancouver.
Female passengers who travel ty
alone between $:00 p.m: and ne
5:00 a.m. on the North Shore wilibe .
allowed to get off buses at locations -.
other than regular bus stops, on the”
condition that the operator
considers it is safetado so...

Here are some simple tips to make your travel at night safer:
To minimize the time spent waiting at the bus stop, passengers should check their transit timetable
or call Transit Information to determine the estimated departure times for buses ata speci Cc sp

well in advance of their trip.

@ Bealert.

@ Be aware of your surroundings and walk

confidently.

® Vary your route as often as possible and

plan it beforehand.

© Walk in well-lit areas, avoiding isolated
alleyways and wooded areas.
@ Avoid drawing unnecessary attention

to yourself.

@ Do not expose expensive jawety, .
money o7 the contents of your”
purse or bag.

@ Ifyou are the victim ofa crime, yell or
scream, but do not risk injury by fighting
with or chasing your attacker. ;

@ Leave your outside house lights on.

@ Have your keys ready before reaching
your front door. °

For details on Request Step service:

Pick up an information brochure from your library, community or recreation centre, FareDealer
outlet or bus Buzzer rack. Watch the Request Stop segment on Shaw Cable's Lifestyles program on:

Friday, June 19 - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 20 - 9:00 a.m. & 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 21- 5:00 p.m. .

Call Transit Information at'261-5100 or West Vancouver Bus Information at 985-7777

West Vancouver
> Municipal Transit

BC Transit 30 wese-~