Water Efficiency

A leaking toilet could cost you hundreds of dollars each year. To check if your toilet is leaking:

• Place a few drops of food colouring in your tank.
• Wait 15 to 30 minutes.
• Check to see if any food colouring has seeped into the bowl.

If you see food colouring, your toilet is leaking. It's usually a worn out flapper valve. Avoid chemical tank cleaners. They could cause premature breakdown of the flapper valve causing it to leak.

Dripping faucets can waste water and money too! Leaking faucets occur when washers, O-rings or seals become dirty or worn.

Choosing a high quality toilet isn't just about cost. The WaterSense™ label ensures you got a better fixture. Most toilets you can buy have this label.

Another helpful resource is the MaP-Testing website. MaP stands for Maximum Performance. MaP tests how well toilets flush. When you are shopping for a toilet, you can refer to the MaP guide. It tells you things to consider when buying a toilet.

Some are concerned whether low-flow toilets can carry waste to the street. Studies show different toilet designs tested meet or exceed the short carry distance household plumbing needs. It does it without extra flows from showers, baths, or clothes washers.

Washing machines

ENERGY STAR® Most Efficient clothes washers use 40 per cent less water. They use 45 per cent less electricity than first-generation front-load washers (2000). ENERGY STAR® Most Efficient clothes washers also have useful features:

• Sanitation cycles
• Steam cycles
• Foam cleaning
• Self-cleaning drums

You also save on heating costs when using warm water. Natural Resources Canada manages the ENERGY STAR® program.

Water efficient humidifiers

There are many kinds of humidifiers. They come in very different designs. Some are furnace-mounted. Others are whole-home. There are:

• Traditional drum-type
• Flow through
• Steam
• Rotating disc humidifiers

Older designs, can pose problems. Water stagnates if you don't properly maintain them. They also need regular cleaning. You'll need to replace the drum filter. Flow-through types can avoid these problems. They inject a fine mist into the heated furnace air. However, they can use up to 190 litres of water per day. Steam humidifiers are more efficient. They tend to be very expensive.

Rotating disc humidifiers use a series of textured discs to humidify furnace heated air. This design doesn't need replacement parts. It uses the least amount of water. It uses about two litres per day. It also uses the least energy compared to other models. You can buy rotating disc humidifiers with a self-cleaning option. This lowers maintenance needs.

Greywater is the wastewater from your bath and shower. Greywater units receive, filter and chlorinate greywater. Your toilets reuse greywater to flush. Treated greywater is a good substitute for flushing toilets. It is more compatible with toilets than drinkable water. Greywater use is becoming increasingly common.

Homes on wells may not be able to save money on their water and sewer bills, but replacing inefficient fixtures with efficient ones has many advantages:

• They cut how much water comes out of your well and extends the life of your water supply.
• High-efficiency (WaterSense™) toilets improve the function of your septic system. Less water means less dilution of the waste emptying into the septic tank and weeping tiles. The septic tank and tiles have more time to process. Less volume also means your septic system will last longer.
• The well water pump comes on less often. This will save you money on your electricity bill.

To grow new grass, improve the soil before you seed. Water regularly after seeding until the grass is established. The same applies if you lay sod. Be sure to over-seed the sod with good grass seed mix. A good mix contains:

• Perennial rye grasses
• Fine fescues
• A smaller amount of Kentucky Blue grass

If the lawn area is already there, top-dress the lawn every year.

Fertilizing, aerating, top-dressing and over-seeding lawns

Fertilizing each year in early spring makes sure grass has deep roots and denser growth. This means your lawn will crowd out weeds. It will be more resistant to disease. It will be better able to cope with hot weather stress. Identify fertilizers by three numbers on the front of the container. Look for a 15-9-9 mix. That indicates 15 per cent nitrogen, nine per cent phosphorous and nine per cent potassium. This mix is ideal for lawns. There are many natural sources available such as:

• Cow manure
• Bloodmeal
• Fish emulsion
• Bone meal
• Dried poultry manure
• Mixed organic fertilizers

Aerating the lawn gives soil a fresh start. It reduces compaction and helps oxygen and nutrients reach grass roots. Aerating before fertilizing or before top-dressing and over-seeding is helpful.

Top-dress and over-seed in the fall. Do it when the soil is still warm but the sun is not as hot as in the spring. Simply apply compost or triple mix to your lawn to a maximum depth of 15 millimetres. Use a seed spreader or hand sow seeds over the top-dressing. Keep the newly seeded area moist until the grass takes hold. Remember to always use a seed mixture that contains perennial rye grasses, fine fescues and a smaller quantity of Kentucky Blue grass.

Mowing

One of the most harmful things you can do to your lawn is mow too often. Don't cut the grass too short either. To ensure your lawn's optimum health, mow grass to a height of six to eight centimetres (2.5 to three inches). Never cut more than one-third of the grass length each time you mow.

Watering

Overwatering is a major cause of plant disease and poor health. If you keep grass area to a minimum and plant the right plant in the right location, you'll only need to water during long periods of hot, dry weather. Minimum watering ensures deep root growth. When there has been no rain and the soil is dry, apply about 2.5 centimetres (one inch) of water to the area once a week. Use an empty tuna can or rain gauge to keep track of how much water collects weekly from rainfall and watering. Water your lawn early in the morning before the main heat of the day when the hot sun can burn wet plant leaves and grass.

Odd-even day lawn watering

Odd-even day lawn watering is mandatory from May to September under the Regional Water System By-law.

Odd-even day lawn watering means you water only on odd calendar days if your house number is an odd number. If your house number is even, water only on even calendar days. Durham residents have done a great job of practicing odd-even day lawn watering. Thank you for reducing the strain on our water system during the peak water use season.

Tune-ups for irrigation systems

Automatic irrigation systems are convenient. They water your property automatically. All this convenience can come with a cost. Costs include water waste and a high water bill. There are steps you can take to tune up your system. A tune-up does a better job of keeping your lawn and gardens healthy, while improving the system's efficiency. Here is an irrigation system checklist:

• Consider a weather-based controller to avoid watering when it rains.
• Add either a rain sensor or a soil moisture sensor to avoid overwatering.
• Use pressure reducing valves or pressure regulated sprinklers. They ensure water pressure is correct.
• High water pressure leads to misting and wasted water. Reducing pressure under 50 pounds per square inch can cut water use by 30 per cent.
• Do not mix spray heads and rotor heads. Spray heads work best at 30 pounds per square inch, and rotor heads work best at 45 pounds per square inch. Rotor heads dispense an average of six millimetres per hour. Spray heads dispense an average of 25 millimetres per hour.
• Move sprinkler heads that become obstructed by plants.
• Set the controller to water a maximum of 2.5 centimetres per week including rainfall.

Demonstration community in Ajax

The Water and Energy Efficient Demonstration Community was in the Tribute Communities' Hamlet in the Town of Ajax. The community's goal was to show how to make new homes more water and energy efficient. This project was a partnership between Durham Region, Tribute Communities, Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Natural Resources Canada.

There were 176 homes involved in the study. Half of the homes were equipped with water-efficient toilets (3/6 litre, four litre and six litre) and improved showerheads. The dishwashers, fridges and washing machines were all ENERGY STAR®. The homes also included a drought-resistant garden. The other half of the homes had builder standard fixtures and appliances.

The water and energy usage in the efficient homes was measured and compared to the standard homes. The goal of the project was to calculate cost-benefit analyses for each change. These calculations show to homeowners and homebuilders which changes made the most environmental and economic sense.

The average water, electricity, natural gas and CO2 savings achieved by the study homes in this research project were significant.

• Water savings: 132 litres per day per household (22.3 per cent)
• Electricity savings: 2.6 kilowatt hours per day per household (13 per cent)
• Natural gas savings: 0.59 cubic metres per day per household (9.1 per cent)
• Carbon dioxide reduction: 1.19 tonnes per year per household (10.7 per cent)

Savings directly related to the use of efficient fixtures and appliances were expected and achieved. Some of the savings found in this study were from homeowners using efficient water and energy use habits.

The annual utility cost savings for the study homes was projected to be little more than $200 per year. The payback period for the upgraded package is only 3.4 years.

This study new home builders should include only water-efficient fixtures, appliances, and landscape packages in new home designs. It is both cost-effective and environmentally responsible to do so.

Homeowners, the community and the environment all win!

Priority Green Clarington

The Region of Durham supported the Municipality of Clarington's exciting project, Priority Green Clarington. This project also got support from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Park's Showcasing Water Innovation Fund. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Green Municipal Fund (Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan) program also supported.

Through the program, Clarington and Durham worked with three new home builders (Brookfield, Halminen and Jeffrey). We used beyond-code water and energy conservation technologies. This was for new neighbourhoods in Bowmanville and Courtice.

We tested six homes for the environmental, social and economic benefits of using technologies that help to conserve water and energy.

Some of the technologies featured in these homes are:

• Greywater systems, which reuse shower water to flush toilets
• Three-litre per flush toilets
• Smart thermostats
• Drain water heat recovery from bath and shower water
• Hot water re-circulation
• Permeable walkways
• Advanced wall framing using less wood and more insulation
• ENERGY STAR® Most Efficient clothes washers
• High-efficiency bathroom fans
• Air leakage testing

The six field-test homes were monitored for changes in water, electricity and natural gas use as part of this project. Average savings for the six homes included water savings of 14 per cent. Electricity savings were 11 per cent. Natural gas savings were 11 per cent.