March: Conservation Challenge Month

Last June, Kevin Freedman challenged himself to live with only 25 litres of water per day for a month, while still maintaining a healthy, hygienic lifestyle. He garnered lots of press in his hometown of Winnipeg, raising awareness of residential water use and global water scarcity issues.

This March, several others have joined Kevin in the grassroots Water Conservation Challenge, repeating his experiment with the hope of spreading the messages. Last week I spoke with Alina Siegfried (blog), water issues coordinator at the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, and Celeste Côté (blog), national water campaigner at Sierra Club Canada. Both women are challenging themselves to do what Kevin did, and they’re documenting the process.

Water Canada: So, how much water have you used so far? Are you meeting your daily goals?

Alina Siegfried: Generally, yes. So far I’ve used a total of 12 litres on the first day, 27.9 yesterday, and this morning I’ve used about 1.5. I am banking water from one day to the next.

Celeste Côté: I’m actually way under, but I haven’t done laundry yet, so I’m going to use some banked litres. I wasn’t planning to, but it’s been pretty hectic, and I’m trying to do a video blog to demonstrate my progress.

WC: How are you monitoring your daily use?

AS: I have a 20-litre jug filled up at home. I have that sitting at home in the kitchen counter. At work I have a five-litre container. I’ve measured quite accurately the water that’s used in my home and work toilets—each time I flush, I make a note in my diary and take it off my allotment at home.

CC: I’m drinking out of a measuring cup and a glass bottle. I’m using mason jars in the washroom and in the kitchen. In the kitchen, I’ll use water from the jar to wet my sponge and rinse my dishes. I’m reusing my dish and bathing greywater to flush toilets and water plants. That offsets approximately four litres that I’ve already used.

WC: What kinds of water-saving devices are you using in your home?

AS: I have a low-flow toilet at my home and office, which is great. They vary from about 3.5-5 litres per flush. Both are very efficient. I’m using buckets and measuring cups, collecting greywater in buckets from when I bathe or do dishes—counted not the second time because I’m recycling that water.

CC: Normally, I have a low-flow shower head and an aerator on the kitchen tap. The showerhead is two gallons per minute. But I’m not using these during the challenge. The whole point isn’t that everybody should be so extreme, the point is that you can reuse your dishwater, for instance. There are things that we can do. People just need to be aware. We really take water for granted. Look how little we actually need to drink and clean and bathe on a regular basis for an entire month.

On my blog, I plan to talk about water footprint, but I’m not measuring in terms of virtual water footprint. One of the biggest costs for most municipalities is pumping drinking water. We need to free up water for growing populations and make sure that we have enough for environment. I tried to do the math: a 10-minute shower with a two-gallon showerhead is about 70-80 litres. But, with my jars, It took me 1.2 to wash my hair the other day.

WC: When you look at your water use, which activity consumes the greatest about of water in your daily routine?

AS: Toilet flushing is the biggest consumer. It’s about 26.1 per cent of all residential water use. Because of my newly adopted habits, I’m not flushing every time, but it’s probably still my biggest consumer.

CC: Normally, outside of the challenge, flushing the toilet and showering. I have a switch on my showerhead to turn it off while I lather my hair, but I don’t always use it. It’s okay to pamper yourself a little, but it’s all about balance.

WC: From which activity is it easiest to cut down water?

AS: It’s easy to cut down on dishwashing water. Doing dishes inside a bucket uses less water.

CC: Brushing my teeth. It takes about half an ounce.

WC: Can developing conservative water use habits in the home lead to effective conservation on a grander scale?

AS: I think so. The more you get people thinking about things earlier on, the better prepared we’ll be when we really need to be. We’ll be facing water shortages here in the prairies in the future. The more time to develop conservative water use habits, pass them on the next generation. In wider spectrum, if more people are aware and talking about it, it may encourage industry to take a look.

CC: Once we’ve got people thinking about water, they’ll start thinking of the structural things. Right now, building codes don’t mandate reuse and purple pipes, etc. But getting industry and decision makers in municipal and provincial to take notice can help.

WC: Finally, what’s going to happen after March? Can a person survive on 25 litres per day for her entire life?

AS: After March, I’ll be having a very long shower! It’s not realistic to expect anybody in western society to continue living on 25 litres per day. The biggest thing that’s struck me is the amount of time it takes to do everything – measuring water, putting greywater aside. It’s not about wanting people to adopt these extreme measures, it’s more to raise awareness. Already I’ve had friends and colleagues saying to me that every time they turn on the tap, they realize how much they’re using.

CC: I plan to be realistic, but there are certain things I don’t mind doing, such as recycling greywater for toilet flushing and from doing laundry.

Follow Celeste and Alina’s blogs to learn more about the Water Conservation Challenge.