The City of Red Deer has saved nearly three billion litres of water through various conservation initiatives since 2009.
Replacing toilets with low-flush models and dishwashers and washing machines with versions using less water, installing rain barrels and other changes have saved the equivalent of 1,160 Olympic-sized pools of water since 2008, said Phil Boehme, city community development co-ordinator for environmental initiatives.
Those impressive water savings do not even include the massive amounts of water saved by improved data management and leak detection technology that enables city work crews to find and fix leaking underground pipes sooner and more efficiently.
“(2.9 billion litres of water saved) is a conservative estimate on just the rebate programs alone,” said Boehme. About seven of every 10 litres is for residential use.
The success of its water-savings initiatives has allowed the city to reduce the amount of annual water loss to three per cent, down from 15 per cent in 2015 well below the seven per cent 2035 target.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in terms of adopting technology and looking at where the most losses might be in our infrastructure,” he said.
“It’s great to see this progress happening around water conservation and water and water loss and working towards the goals we have under the Environmental Master Plan,” he said.
The city has helped provide a nudge to those looking to reduce their environmental footprint through a number of programs. Among the longest-running is the toilet rebate program, which provides a $25 rebate for residents who replace their toilets with a low-flush version using six litres of water or less. Replacing toilets alone, can save up to 25,000 litres of water per person annually.
Rebate programs are also available for rain barrels, drought-tolerant plants and mulch, which soaks up water and reduces soil moisture loss.
All of the water conservation measures combined have dramatically reduced the number of litres each resident uses on average per day to 180 litres by 2019 from 242 litres a decade earlier. It began creeping a little on the residential side beginning in 2020, likely because more people began working from home during the pandemic.
However, on the industrial and commercial side lower water use per capita has continued its downward trend to 101 litres per day from 135 in 2009.
“We’ve made a substantial improvement on water consumption. There’s still room for improvement on that, for sure.”
For the city, the success of its water conservation programs was a fitting recognition of World Water Day, which took place last Wednesday. This year’s theme is accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis world-wide.
City rebate programs have also been designed to reduce electricity consumption. The Energy Efficiency Rebate Pilot Program provided $50 to help offset the cost of installing a smart programmable thermostat and $100 towards the cost of an energy-efficient dishwasher.
The program proved so popular the city had to stop taking applications on Oct. 28. The initiative is now being evaluated to see how best to go forward.
Kerry Wood Nature Centre also oversees a lightbulb exchange program in which residents can trade two incandescent bulbs for LED lightbulbs requiring a fraction of the electricity. Red Deer Public Library also has Energy and Water Conservation Toolkits available so residents can measure their water and electricity usage.
The annual Green Deer program will also be back this spring, with dozens of volunteers scouring the city’s green spaces and waterways for garbage.
This Friday, the city is launching its latest initiative. The Environmental Initiatives Grant is a $50,000 initiative that provides up to $10,000 for individuals or groups undertaking projects that will help the city reach the goals in its Environmental Master Plan. Originally developed in 2011 and updated in 2019, the plan is designed to provide a road map for improving the community’s environmental performance.
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The success of Red Deer’s water-savings initiatives has allowed the city to reduce the amount of annual water loss to three per cent, down from 15 per cent in 2015 well below the seven per cent 2035 target. (Advocate file photo)
