Water Wise program helps water use reduction

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

A report from the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society received by Council last week shows that the total amount of water being consumed by city users has dropped 20% since 2006. The report was prepared to assess the work of the Water Wise education program, a partnership between the City and the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society.

In the summer of 2006, the City of Williams Lake entered into a fee for service agreement to educate the public on the benefits of conserving water in the community. The Cariboo Conservation Society achieved this by hosting large public events, such as Earth Day, radio and newspaper ads, displays set up at public buildings including the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex & City Hall, children’s day camps, and provided a very comprehensive education program in the public school system with emphasis on the primary grades three and four. Through this educational program the City and the Cariboo Conservation Society’s intentions were to reduce the amount of water the community was using for its day to day use, which in turn would reduce the stress being put on the aquifer that the City draws its water from.

In order to assist the conservation effort, the City has offered residents rebates on low-flow toilets and water-efficient washing machines and dishwashers, which have seen a high rate of interest.

The reduction in water use is among all users (industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential), but it cannot be determined where the largest reduction in daily usage is, as not all water services are metered. However, as with most communities, it has been suggested that the industrial, commercial, and institutional sectors of any community do not use any more water than they need to complete their operation. Assuming this is correct, the lion’s share of water reduction is from the residential users.

“It is clear from the water reduction numbers that this educational partnership is working,” says Williams Lake Mayor Kerry. “Council thanks the Cariboo Chilcotin Conversation Society and City staff for all their work on the Water Wise program, and to all water users who have reduced their consumption in order to protect this most precious resource.”