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' 6 -- Sei st 27, 1991 Citizen Tuesday, Au, {EDITORIAL Taking water for granted Canadians by ER have always taken ins for granted. Wide open spices, endless traets of virgin forest, pristine lakes and rivers that provide all the water 25 million people will ev Water. For many of us, just turn on the tap and out it comes. There is always enough for drinking, sh , the hine, dish- washer, indoor plumbing, the lawn, the garden, the backs yard pool, a couple of hot tubs,'and to soap down the cars and trucks sitting if the driveway. _« Canada has more fresh water than any other country in the world; fhere's more water in the Greai Lakes than in most of the world's seas. So, what's the problem? Simple. The Ontario government is wor- ried about how much water we use: househdlds, industry and com- merce. * And according to government figures, there is cause for worry. When it comes to using water, we are real gluttons. On a per capita basis, for example, each Ontario resident uses 300 litres per day, or almost twice as much as Europeans. : Our friends south of the border use more water per capita than we do (about 420 litres per day) Maybe the Americans don't care about water, After all, if they run short, they just need to run a pipeline from Canada as has been suggested at various times in our history. Seriously, the Ontario government has launched a 20-year project designed to get us to reduce the amount of water we use as individu- als and as a society in general. It's about time. Water, like everything else we have taken for granted and squandered over the years is no longer an infinite resource. There are a couple of pretty important reasons why the govan- ment is embarking on this 20-year project. Firstly, for the thousands of communities and rural Howes that got their water from wells, the possibility of shortages is real. Thé city of Waterloo is a good example where shortages occur in the dry season. Using less ground-water reduces the risk of lowering water tables which' support streams and wetland habitats for fish, flora and wildlife. The cost to of treating the water that flows through the pipes and comes out the tap in your bathroom is getting higher all the time. This year, it will cost just under $2 billion. A decade ago, the cost was about $600 million. One need not be a math wizard to figure out what the cost will be in a decade or two if current trends continue as they have. Not only does it cost a lot in dollars, treating water uses a lot of other non-renewable resources, What the government wants to achieve, and it's an admirable 'goal, is zero growth in water consumption by the year 2011. Conservation will make up the increased demand from population and industrial expansion. Currently, Ontario households use 640 billion litres annually. Industry and commerce go through another 900 billion litres. That's a lot of water. Clearly, there is plenty of room for conser- vation. As most water used by. industry goes for cooling equipment, up to 30 per cent reductions in consumption are possible by recycling the cooling water. As for householders, there are dozens of ways to reduce water consumption. And none of them requires much imagination. For example. Most people shower for an average of ten minutes. Cut that time in half and the savings in water is 85 litres. Replace the showerhead with one that is "water efficient" and save another 85 litres in a five-minute shower. There are toilets now on the market that require six litres per flush as opposed to 19 litres. Or, put a brick in the toilet. Fix your leaky faucets and toilets. When washing the car, use a, trigger nozzle. Lawn watering should be only in the early morning when there's less loss to evaporation. Over the next few years, Ontario residents are going to hear a lot about how to reduce water consumption. And it's about time. Like everything else we once took for grant- ed, water is finite. But this is a new age. Most of us, who glibly open the tap full bore, are simply going to have to leam to get by with less, a lot less. . "And to think | cried the first time..." Don't cry about lack of big fish To the Editor: While a lot of bass fishermen have been crying about the low water levels in Lake Scugog, and not being able to get to where the fish are, there are some guys who are not complaining about the fishing this summer. My son Peter is out fishing almost every day and hardly ever comes home empty-handed. Within a few days, he's caught a 3.2 Ib bass, one at 5.3 Ibs, and another that was 6 Ibs. (see photo) He brings them home, I take a quick picture and he releases them again. Peter is 14 years old and doesn't own a fancy bassboat with all of today's electronic technolo- gy. But just maybe he knows something they don't know. He's also caught ten muskies so far this year. Almost all were released. But he's having a 40- incher mounted. Yours truly, M. Bostelmann RR 1, Janetville, Ont. Pleased by response To the editor: The Directors of the, Port Perry Agricultural Society are very pleased to see the enthusiasm expressed by the citizens of our community towards the baseball diamond "at the Port Perry Fairgrounds. It is very satisfying to have the community's support in our efforts to restructure the fairgrounds to provide a commu- , nity recreational facility. Council's failure to endorse our efforts has resulted in the loss of possibly a $12,000 grant from the 'Ministry of Recreation and Tourism. Needless to say, the grant will be sorely missed. We would suggest that there is a mechanism by which you can assist us in developing the fair- grounds. Donations 10 assist in the development of the baseball dia- mond would be gratefully appreci- ated. Please send to the Port Perry Agricultural Society Baseball Fund, Box 401, Port Perry, L9L 1A4, Di ions are tax tax receipts will be issued for donations greater than $10. Keith Phoenix, Port Perry Agricultural Society » A Proud Volce For Scugog Scugog Township every or ineters in Printed on 10% recycled newsprint. 36 Water Street © * _ Port Perry, Ontario _ Phone: 985-NEWS Fax: 985-1410 The Scugog Citizen Is delivered free of charge $0 9,000 homes and busi Published by Adyers A vy . Scugog Citizen Publishing Lid, ow Valerle Ellis - John Menlad Cathy Ofte Canadians Jon ecrelind Cay aay OMe RE Co % 'Proud proud to call Fiscugog Township "home". -~ \