Why water conservation?
Did you know that only 1% of the earth’s water is available for fresh drinking water. 97% is salt water and 2% is frozen in glaciers!
Using less water reduces your ecological footprint on this planet. Not only does your action conserve precious fresh water resources, it eliminates the amount of water that goes through treatment and transport. Less water use = Less CO2 emissions!
Your Pocket Book $$ – Did you know that a leaking toilet could be costing you hundreds of dollars a year.
Water conservation decreases your monthly water bills if you are metered.
Water conservation decreases your energy bills – you pay for the water and the heat when you shower, wash clothes and dishes.
As more people move into a city, there is a greater need for water infrastructure. Water conservation would allow for more people without a larger system. Therefore preventing increases in city property taxes!
How to conserve water at home
In partnership with the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority and with support from SaskEnergy, the SES created a water conservation booklet called “Water Use in Your Home: What You Need to Know to Use Less and Spend Less”. This helpful booklet helps you to reduce your use, retrofit or replace water technologies in your home to help you save water and money. Please click here for a PDF of the full booklet.
Here are some of the tips to conserving water:
In the Bathroom
- Leaks? You can test to see if your toilet is leaking by putting a few drops of food colouring into the back tank and waiting ~20 minutes. If the colour appears in the bowl below, your tank is leaking! You can also pick up water dye tablets from the SES office. If it’s leaking it may be your flapper (check out this site for tips on replacing it) or you may have to call a plumber. If your faucets are leaky, it is probably a worn washer or the o-rin gin the handle.
- Replace it! Old toilets can use up to 20L per flush! New dual flush toilets typically use only 3L/6L per flush. Old showerheads use ~15-19L/minute, wile newer models use 7-9L/minute–install a low flow showerhead and save water! Low flow faucet aerators are inexpensive and easy to install and can decrease your faucet water use by half!
In the Kitchen
- Leaks can also be a problem on kitchen taps–try replacing the washer or call a plumber.
- Dishwasher – only run it when it is full. Try the shortest cycle and avoid using the heat-dry, rinse-hold, or pre-rinse features. If buying new, make sure to buy an Energy Star rated model.
Laundry
- Wash full loads, use the appropriate water level, try to wash in cold water. When purchasing new, watch for Energy Star and front-loading washing machines, which less energy and water!
Outdoor water conservation
- Watering – Install a water barrel to collect water. Water in the morning, between 6-10am, when temperatures are lower and winds are calmer. Use drip-irrigation. Avoid over-watering your lawn by installing and settinga timer (most lawns only require 2.5 cm of water per week).
- Lawn maintenance – Longer grass holds more moisture–set your mower height to 6cm or higher. Sharpen your mower blades. Grasscycle (leave the clippings on the lawn to add moisture and nutrients back into the soil).
- Xeriscape! Your best bet to reducing your outdoor water use is to plant native species that are drought tolerant and that do not require lots of water.
Prairie Water Directive – A Collective Call to Action
In collaboration with environmental organizations in Alberta and Manitoba, SES has developed a “statement of expectations” aimed at policy makers about how water should be used and managed in the prairie region. The Prairie Water Directive was created through a process of consultation in communities throughout the three provinces. It begins with a vision of a sustainable water system, and makes a series of recommendations to governments about how to move towards sustainability in water management.
Many organizations have signed on to indicate their support of this vision. Here is an opportunity for your group to be involved. You can download the full Prairie Water Directive (PDF) or the four-page Executive Summary (PDF).
As an endorser of this document you will be listed as a supporter on our website as well as in subsequent reprints of the Directive, before it is presented to provincial and federal governments. In the best traditions of democracy, residents and groups can collectively call on governments to address freshwater concerns that are critical to the health and wellbeing of society and our natural environment. Together our voices can be heard!
Please visit www.prairiewaterwatch.ca for more information, updates and a list of supporting organizations.”
Big Dams in Saskatchewan – Share a Flyer
Sustainable water management means managing demand, not simply damming and diverting rivers to endlessly increase supply. Instead of re-plumbing the Prairies, we must shape human activities to match the realities and limits of our watershed ecosystems. SES is asking tough questions about proposals to build big dams in Saskatchewan.
“Citizens are Asking: Does Saskatchewan Need More Dams?”
Our four-page flyer – Citizens are Asking: Does Saskatchewan Need More Dams? – is an educational and organizing tool for citizens and communities that want to better understand the pros and cons of large dam projects.
The flyer looks at some of the commonly asked questions about dams and their promises of economic benefits and digs below the surface to come up with some surprising answers.
Download the flyer here: “Citizens are Asking: Does Saskatchewan Need More Dams? (PDF) Please feel free to copy and distribute this flyer widely.
Printed copies are available from the SES office.
