Post 65--Back to the Water

Hume’s Prophetic Warning

That precious stuff—water—has been discussed in posts 55, 57 and 58.  I want to continue with the topic today, for we here in BC are still in the serious water shortage of 2015 and we don’t see the end in sight.  Stephen Hume wrote us a strongly prophetic warning about the upcoming scarcity. He holds up California as the BC of tomorrow (“Water scarcity crisis looms in BC,” VS, April 6, 2015).  He warns that “Instead of tit-for-tat finger pointing, we now need an adult discussion of how to adapt to coming change with long-term planning that isn’t dictated by developers, investors and politicians wanting quick returns within short horizons.” 

Turning to stats, Hume tells us that over the past 50 years BC’s snow cover has “dwindled by 18% on average;” in  the Columbia region, 20%; Kootenay, 23%; mid-Fraser 47%!  50 years may seem like a long time to the juniors of this world, but to guys like me (77), that’s a short time, believe me, so short that we cannot afford to duplicate those stats during the coming 50.  Scientists are warning of “An impending water crisis in Canada’s western prairie provinces.” A crisis next door will become our crisis in BC, as farther-way California is already in terms of our food prices. 

Hume wants us to “to start having this conversation right now. Not in the rarefied atmosphere of academic conferences but as citizens prepared to bring the same passion to the discussion that we mustered over TransLink’s proposals. Believe me, water security is a much bigger issue than adjustments to the sales tax.” Amen, brother!

Mixed Public Reaction

In spite of his dire predictions and calls for serious actions on the part of citizen, government and UN, earlier in July, when our drought had already begun to make its mark, hundreds of Metro residents have been caught ignoring restrictions. Can you imagine such stupidity?  These are the people that have the power to vote, to determine our next governments!  No wonder we can’t vote satisfactory government into place. With such egocentrism and stupidity in place, how can you expect intelligent voting? 

I need to be fair. While there are those stupid ones, “across most of Metro Vancouver over the last decade” the use of water is down! (Gordon Hoekstra and Randy Shore, VS, July 17, 2015).  Despite increasing population, the total drop in Metro was 9% between 2004-2013. In per capita terms, this spells a reduction of 20% across the region. In the Township of Langley, water consumption dropped from 307 litres a day in 2004 to 282 in 2013—that’s 25 litres per capita per day. Try drinking that! You’ll see how much that is. So, credit where credit is due. Thanks to the more intelligent among us. Apparently we are still the majority!  Do I hear a shout of approval? Thank you. But, at the same time, 282 litres is still a lot that must be reduced.  How many bathtubs is that per capita?

Some Government Measures

What has caused this impressive reduction? Several measures taken by the authorities have helped. Hoekstra & Shore list education, sprinkling restrictions, better leak detection, improved water-efficient technology and charging for water, among others.  Then there are new requirements in construction. In Vancouver proper “the demolition of 1200 properties a year to make way for new homes…that require the lowest flow toilets and shower heads,” while “new single-family homes and duplexes” require the installation of meters. 

From Tub to Tank

In one of the earlier posts I confessed to a private water saving measure I have never before confessed publicly to others, only to find we are not the only ones to…. Well, remember that ditty? Today, in view of the extreme shortage we are facing, we are following advice we read elsewhere—from tub to tank. Our bathtub and toilet are right next to each other. So, we leave the water in the tub and whenever a flush is unavoidable, I get down on my knees and scoop water from the tub into the tank fast, so that the tank fills up from the tub and not from the “natural” mechanism inside of the tank. My guess is that at the end 75% of the water in the tank is from the tub. That’s a considerable saving.  Gross, you might think?  Extreme, you might snort? Well, yes, probably, but we are in an extreme situation and soon might be in one that’s gross if there’s no water to flush at all.

That’s it for today, but in the near future I do hope to return once or twice more to this most vital of topics—more vital than a half percent increase in sales tax and one that may well dwarf all TransLink issues. If there’s no water, there’s no need for the former.  Just to make you curious, the next post will be among the most politically incorrect I have ever plagiarized.