Burk's Falls resident Ken Eadie takes his free energy savings kit from town employee Linda Maurer.
BURK’S FALLS — The village is offering some goodies — rebates on certain water-saving devices and free energy savings kits — in an attempt to help residents conserve.
If residents conserve water, it doesn’t just help save money, but will help the village’s water system have as long a life as possible, said Burk’s Falls councillor Bruce Campbell.
With commercial developments in the works for the area, and allowing for future expansion and developing, Campbell said the village wants to ensure their future water supply.
“We got thinking about the fact that we have a finite amount of water and started thinking about the future,” he said.
That’s where the village’s new promotions come in.
They are currently offering rebates to households who install certain water-saving devices — a $40 rebate for low-flush toilets and horizontal axis washers, and up to $10 for low-flow massage showerheads (maximum of 9.5 litres/minute), low-flow kitchen aerators and low-flow bathroom aerators.
Residents must submit a receipt for the item to the village, and once staff have verified its installation, the refund will be arranged for them.
The funding for the rebates will come from the village’s water budget, Campbell said.
“There’s a significant water saving,” he said of the benefits of the rebates, noting that installation of such conservation-friendly devices “saves people of their bills and saves the town’s water system.”
Now also available to residents who are serviced with natural gas hot water heaters is a free energy saving kit, provided by Union Gas.
The kit includes a low-flow massage showerhead, a low-flow kitchen aerator, a low-flow bathroom aerator, a roll of Teflon tape and two metres of foam pipe insulation.
Campbell said he attended an energy forum where Union Gas was present and then approached the company to see if the village could distribute the packages.
The village has also sent all water customers a copy of a government-published household guide to water efficiency with their water bills.
It includes information on water use in Canada and tips for water efficiency within your home and yard.
Burk’s Falls has also made available Union Gas’s Wise Energy Guide, which outlines strategies for cutting down heating costs and conserving energy. These guides are available at the Village Office.
The village has been active in other water conservation measures.
They first adopted a water metering system for customers in 2001.
About 95 per cent of residences and businesses in the village are currently metered, said village clerk Jarv Osborne.
The effects have been positive, Campbell said.
“There has been a decrease in the amount of water (used),” he explained.
“Most people were pleased to see we were doing something,” Osborne added.
The remote metering system allows the town to watch water trends, and can let them know if something is potentially wrong with one of the customer’s systems.
“If someone’s water bill goes way up, the office will call them and ask if they’ve been using a lot of water or to check for a leak,” Campbell said.
He showed a metering tool that acts as a prop to quantify the amount of water wasted through leaks. A 1/16 inch water stream — merely a trickle of a leak — can translate to 74,000 gallons of water wasted over a three-month period, he said.
In April, the village will begin arrangements to install remote water meters to all of its water customers in Armour Township.
Campbell said the village will strive to continue to educate people as information about conservation comes up.
“We’ll keep our ears to the ground for other energy and money-saving ideas,” he said.
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