As the summer heats up, the City of Grand Forks wants to remind residents that water conservation is crucial, as drought and water supply issues can affect the local water system.
There are five simple things you can do to conserve water and still maintain a beautiful lawn and garden:
• Lawns and gardens require only 35 millimetres (about 1½ inches or enough to fill a tuna can) of water per week during warm weather. Less is needed during spring, fall, or cool weather.
• Use a broom to clean your sidewalks and driveways rather than a hose.
• Adjust your sprinklers so that water does not run down your driveway, sidewalks or street.
• Collect water in a rain barrel and use it to water outdoor plants.
• Water only in accordance with the city’s sprinkling regulations (even-numbered addressed homes sprinkle on even numbered days and odd numbered addressed homes sprinkle on odd numbered days).
“Saving a drop can help save a lot. There are significant costs and energy required to deliver water to our taps and treat it to be safe and clean. Conserving water will reduce those peak demands and help reduce the cost to maintain and operate the water system,” says Hal Wright, manager of operations with the City of Grand Forks.
“We are in mid-summer, the temperatures are high and people have their sprinklers going full tilt. The draw on our water system is at its highest for the year so it’s very important that people conserve water,” he adds.
The water that is used by each and every resident comes from deep water wells – as deep as 76.2 metres (250 feet). Currently, the city pumps water to a reservoir located in the east end of Grand Forks. The electricity costs associated with pumping, as well as wear on the pumps would be reduced if water demands could be reduced.
An average Grand Forks resident uses about 720 litres per day of water – that’s more than 3,000 cups of water every day. That’s also about one-third more than the average British Columbian.
“The little things you do can help to reduce water use, save on costs to operate the system and still allow you to have a healthy lawn and garden,” adds Wright.