Tip #1 Understanding Water Purification and Usage
Have you ever thought about where your water comes from when you turn your tap on or where your water goes when it flows down the drain? Our water supply is a continuous cycle of purification and contamination, back to purification, that we don’t really think much about.
The Water Cycle
www.ec.gc.ca Environment Canada Website
The water we use goes through our outgoing home sewer lines, into municipal sewers then on to sewage treatment plants. It is then filtered and purified and returned to local, natural bodies of water and lakes where we swim, boat (including commercial shipping), fish and carry out other various activities that again partially contaminate the lakes or rivers. The water is then pumped from those natural bodies of water back into local municipal water purification plants, pumped into water towers and on demand, returned to our homes purified for drinking and bathing. It is truly a remarkable process and takes thousands of employees many man hours to accomplish.
Water Supply and Sewage Treatment
Explanation of the water cycle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle
Most people believe that Canada has more water than it knows what to do with. I believe the content of this blog post will change your mind. We continue to be a growing nation with an increasing demand for pure water. However, there are no new lakes or rivers being created, so the actual supply remains the same. During the first half of the 20thCentury, houses were built with only one indoor bathroom and even that was considered a luxury in the early part of the century. Today, as consumers we are demanding homes with three or four bathrooms, one for every bedroom in a house. Even nurseries and children’s rooms are coming equipped with en-suite bathrooms that including a double sink, porcelain vanity and walk in shower next to a separate bath. If this behaviour is not changed it begs the question, “Is it realistic to suggest that we might witness self-imposed droughts after a time?”
This series of blog posts has been submitted by guest blogger Will Vincent, Plumbing Technician
That may sound unbelievable to you but take a look at the numbers and perhaps you’ll change your mind.
Earth’s Water Reserves. That may sound unbelievable to you but take a look at the numbers and perhaps you’ll change your mind.
Accessible Water on Earth
(GreenPlumbers: Canadian Plumber Sustainability Training Pilot Program)
World Average Daily Water Use (www.ec.gc.ca Environment Canada Website)