Blog entries tagged Water

Warm and Dry - Summer 2010 Weather Prediction Thus Far

Geoff Jones — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:01:52 +0100

After two years of wet, cool and grey summer (2008 and 2009), senior climatologist David Phillips with Environment Canada has said that the region should be returning to seasonably hot, hazy, humid and dry days this June, July and August.

The official forecast doesn't come out until June 1st but indications at this time are that it will be a dry summer compared to the last 2 years.

"There's just two words: Warm and dry," said Phillips

If this is the case foRead More...

Bottled Water - Share Your Thoughts

Geoff Jones — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:53:33 +0100

The discussion on bottled water certainly generates a lot of different and very strong opinions. I think the best way to form an opinion is to gather as much information and as many viewpoints as possible. Only after we have shared our views and listened objectively to the opinions and views of others can we truly work toward a better solutioRead More...

Rainwater Harvesting Can Help Protect Our Water

Geoff Jones — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:24:03 +0100

Many people look to Rainwater Harvesting primarily due to the benefits it provides in helping to meet irrigation demand and reduce dependency on municipal or well water supplies primarly during the summer months when outdoor water use increases. It also allows people to continue to irrigate there plants, shrubs, gardens, vegetables etc. during drought when watering bans are in place. These are all great benefits that we can all realize by using rainwater harvesting but there is another benefiRead More...

Save Water & Money with a Low-Flow Showerhead

Geoff Jones — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:16:55 +0100

We often talk about many more advanced technologies in the water conservation area but it is certainly worth repeating that there are some simple solutions that can also have a significant impact on how much water we use. The low-flow showerhead is one of those technologies.

Shower heads before 1992 used approximately 5Read More...

Outdoor Water Use Restrictions and Programs

Geoff Jones — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:18:14 +0100

Outdoor watering restrictions are becoming more and more common place for many regions in Ontario, particularly those dependant (although not exclusively) on ground and surface water.

Watering restrictions have had a significant reduction on water demand during hot summer months over the past years. Did you know that to put 1" of water Read More...

City of Guelph Greywater Pilot Project

Geoff Jones — Wed, 06 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

The City of Guelph, located in southern Ontario, has officially launched its Greywater Pilot Project to evaluate greywater systems in residential applications. The program is designed to allow the City to gather data for analysis of greywater recycling as a key technology to help reduce water demand and wastewater flows.

ECOShift has been working closely with the City of Guelph since inception of the project to help define a greywater project which will provide valuaRead More...

Above vs. Below Ground Rainwater Systems

Geoff Jones — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100

One question that is asked quite often is in regard to above ground rainwater systems vs. below ground rainwater systems. As a result of the number of inquiries we have had on this topic it seemed appropriate to discuss some of the situations or considerations associated with the 2 different types of systems. It certainly isn't about one being better than the other, they just have different points that should be looked at when trying to make the decision of why to choose one system or the anoRead More...

Greywater System Savings Analysis

Geoff Jones — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:00:00 +0100

Overview

We all know the statistics surrounding water usage in the home. If you are not familiar with them take a look at the pie chart below which outlines water usage in the home by end use.

Environment Canada has gone to great lengths to evaluate and determinRead More...

Indoor and Outdoor Water Efficiency Tips

Geoff Jones — Sat, 03 May 2008 23:00:00 +0100

Efficient use of water can play a significant role in benefiting the environment, public health, and economics by helping to improve water quality, protect drinking water resources, maintain aquatic ecosystems, and ensure water supply for the future and today. By using water more efficiently we can also help mitigate the effects of drought and water shortages which are occurring more and more frequently around the world and in many parts of North America. Being water efficient is not only gooRead More...

Toilet Technology - A Quick Overview

Geoff Jones — Sat, 03 May 2008 23:00:00 +0100

Toilet technology has changed a lot in the past 30 years. Even though the basic function and purposeof a typical household toilet hasn't changed much there have been some significant improvements in the design of toilets. The key result of these changes is that toilets today perform better than toilets from 30 years ago, but use about 1/3 to 1/4 of the water to accomplish the same task.Now you might think to yourself, so, does it really matter? Let's just take a quick look at what this means.Read More...

Benefits Of Grey Water Recycling

Geoff Jones — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Introduction

First, let's take a quick look at why it's important to even care about the benefits of something like greywater recycling. With water being so easily accessible in our homes today it's easy to forget about conservation and why we should care about something like reusing greywater within our homes. However, although water is very easily accessible for many people around the world, it's not so easily accessible for a very large number of people. According to WHO/UNICEF 2005, oRead More...

Reverse Osmosis System Efficiency

Geoff Jones — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100

There are many options for the average consumer today to address their drinking water needs. You can purchase from the various bottled water options, drink straight from your tap, or install a home filtration system to improve the quality of water you drink, and for some people, coRead More...

Rain Barrels - A Simple Rainwater System

Geoff Jones — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100

One of the most basic forms of rainwater harvesting is the Rain Barrel. In Southern Ontario, ever increasing water demands due to explosive population and industrial growth are putting more and moreRead More...

Rainwater Harvesting, An Old Approach

Geoff Jones — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Rainwater harvesting and storage is not really a new concept or technology. There is evidence of rainwater collection systems that date back as far as 1000-2000 BC. Although Read More...

Global Water Crisis

Geoff Jones — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0100

The Global Water Crisis

Of all the water in the world, only 3% is fresh. Less than a third of 1% of this is available to humans. The rest is frozen in glaciers or polar ice caps, or is deep within the earth, beyond our reach. To put it another way, iRead More...