Water conservation always a good idea

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Times & Trascnript

Location: D6

Topics: Editorials, Water - Dieppe Moncton Riverview

We Say: Better to conserve water now than have restrictions later

There's no doubt that this has been a hot and dry summer, and the fact that the City of Moncton has issued a 'friendly reminder' for residents to be cautious with water use should come as no shock or surprise.

While the Turtle Creek reservoir is at 98 per cent capacity - far from a shor tage - city officials say it's still important for homeowners to abide by a municipal bylaw to avoid the possibility of a shortage.

Even though officials say they do not plan to issue water restrictions, we say it is prudent for all homeowners and water users to practise conservation. For it would be better to act responsibly now than to live with restrictions later.

According to Environment Canada, Metro Moncton remains in the midst of the hottest, driest summer since 1965. Historical weather data, as published by the Times & Transcript recently, showed the normal precipitation for period of March 1 to July 31 as 515 millimetres. This year, precipitation for that period was 328 mm. Looking back at weather records to 1938, the lowest precipitation from March 1 to July 31 for Moncton was 222 mm in 1965.

Warm temperatures play a role in the dryness. The average temperatures have been 20.2 C, which is above the average of 18.6, which means water evaporates from plants faster.

This hot and dry weather can be good or bad, depending on who you ask. Farm crops suffer from too much heat and lack of water while tourism flourishes.

City officials are now asking water users to be frugal when washing cars and follow the bylaw when it comes to watering lawns. There are many other steps that could be followed to cut down on our water use, whether it is in the home or business.

We should be happy to know we live in a part of the world where access to water is easy and plentiful, but we need not abuse that blessing by wasting a precious resource. The fact that our Turtle Creek reservoir is holding steady at a time like this is a tribute to planning. Likewise, the city is now working on expanding the reservoir to make sure the resource is there to serve us as the city expands in the future, putting more demands on the water system.