The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

By 1991, residents of Waterloo region will be drinking water diverted directly from the Grand River and treated with ozone and chlorine, if Regional council Ian Kirkby Chronicle Staff Conservation at home and in the workplace could go a long way toward reducing the rapidly increasing demand for water in Waterloo Region say local and international experts. "I'd like to see the first and foremost policy in this area be water conserva- tion," said Cameron Wright 8 research coordinator with Waterloo Public Inter. est Research Group. However, water conservation is not the top priority with area politicians and staff. Securing a steady and reliable source of water from the Grand River or Lake Erie has been the priority since it became apparent the region could suffer from serious water shortages by 1991 due to the rapid growth of the last several "I see reduction (of water consumption) as where we should be focusing much of our attention," said Wright. "I see it as making practical environmental and economic sense." Water is not an innnite resource, Wright emphssizes. "The supply itself is infinite. Adequate supply is another matter. Certainly, we'll always have water replenished, but to what extent? "And there in no issue more important to human survival than maintaining a clean safe me! 2999'!" _ The Region of Wifaéloo recently upon- Iorod I day-long tympamm which enm- Conservation is a key issue John Pawley Mannheim system is _ favored choice for future water supply votes as expected within the next month. Under the favored plan, within a decade Grand River water will be naturally nltered through a "recharge system" providing water quality close to that now supplied solely by wells throughout the region, experts say. The system will cost between $130 and $135 million, with 15 per cent of the costs coming from the Ontario government. Local politicians are unhappy with the level of funding coming from the province, and have pledged to raght for more. Alternatives to the Mannheim recharge system have all been eliminated. The province will not consider any funding for a proposal to pipe water from Lake Huron, citing cost as the reason. It would, however, fund more than 15 per cent of the cost of building a pipeline from Lake Erie. However, such a scheme, estimated to cost around $200 million will not be in operation "within five ears, or even six or seven years," Regional Chair- man Ken Seiling said recently. It has been estimated that due to the rapid economic growth of the region, a secure supply of water will have to be on tap by 1991. The alternative, some warn, is to limit the growth of area municipali- ties. The Mannheim recharge system has been the favored choice with Regional engineering staff, and Seiling recently estimated that $700,000 had been spent to date on engineering work and studies for the option. The Mannheim system requires a dam be built near Hidden Valley at Freeport. Water from the Grand River will be pumped 10 kilometres to Mannheim, where it will receive treatment in an advanced water-treatment plant. The treated water will then be pumped into an underground aquifer, which is a porous layer of St and rr , The Manne- him aquifer is loca rd 45 n es below the surface. From there, the water will move slowly, over a period of at least 100 days, Ulnstituce lawn watering restrictions. The region already has odd-even water- ing schedules, and Regional Chairman Ken Seiling reported that neighbors have been effective in informing authorities of offenders. ined potential water conservation pro- grams that could be adopted locally. Participants were addressed by experts from as far away as California. Among the suggestions made to can serve water were: FJCoordinate a region-wide residential "retrofit" program for toilets and show- ers. Barbara Jordan an employee of San Jose, California reported her city achieved 92 per cent success in a high- prome program to install ahowerheada and toilet dams in each household. The program coat the city 815 per household, but saved many times that value in water consumption. [jlndustrinl consumption could be re- duced through the reduction of "once through" cooling syuema. John Pewter, director of engineering operations for the region said later he Waterloo Region his no substantial retrofit program cur'rently in effect or fnirly extensive. But with rapidly in- creasing water rates, I think we'll have that controlled within a few yearn". L3inereanintt water consumption rates. Currently, - regional municipalities once throetrh" cooling "ir, still through sand and gravel towards a ring of collection wells. The wells will be located up to two kilometres from the site where the water was injected into the ground. While underground, the water will be cooled and purified. The resulting tap water should not have a strong chemical taste. and experts say it will taste much like the well water currently in use. The recharge system will take about a decade to implement. Wells will have to be drilled, and the system tested and C1ne- tuned. Large amounts of water will be taken from the river in the spring and fall, and stored underground until needed in the summer. A consultant with M.M. Dillon Ltd., which recommended the recharge system to regional council said the option has been used extensively in the southwestern United States, Israel and Holland. Monitoring equipment will warn opera- tors of any toxic hazards upstream. Addi- tionally, both raw and treated water will be stored for use in case of an intake valve has to be closed while toxic substances - A charcoal filtering system will be reserved only for emergencies due to the high cost: of orreration. - _ _ Until the recharge system is operational, Grand River water will be pumped directly from the Mannheim treatment plant into the distribution system. Homes and busi- nesses across the region will receive a combination of treated river water and well water. A recharge system is predicted to cost $2.8 billion to build and operate over the next 50 years, while the least costly of the Lake Erie options would cost $3.6 billion over the same period. The province, in considering funding for the options, reached the conclusion that the quality of Grand River and Lake Erie water was similar. However, Social Ser- vices Minister John Sweeney, the MPP for Kitchener-Wilmot recently stated the Err charge a flat rate for water consumption, while Kitchener charges less the more an industry uses. Though perhaps politically risky. mun- icipalities could set rates to reflect con- sumption. A water rate study is now underway, said Pawley, and will be complete by the end of 1988. UEducation of consumers and children can have long-term impact on consump tion. In addition to retrontting their showers and toilets. consumers can re- duce water consumption in a myriad of ways. A study by M.M. Dillon Limited of the region's water consumption concluded “businesses will respond rationally to water conservation options in light of their water costs". Leaky faucets can be repaired; water can be turned off while brushing teeth or shnving, or washing vegetables; washing machines can be mled with clothes; water can be refrigerated for those thirtrtsuenehing times. Addiiionnny, household cleaners, peati- cities and automotive products should not bt slump“! 40m sink- or storm govern: Nancy Felix, the manager of youth education for the Colorado-based Ameri- can Water Works Association Atl the symposium, "we all have - 'bilitiea to our communion and young people to provider A role model in water use. neei that excellent water program. are [31.023 in our school systems, and taking an wrenLoo am. my" arm " ml- PM! o naive role in ape-king out on our foolingnmin rosy-{jg to current water blues. We can all change a world of users into a world of environmental protectors. We each have one chance to make a difference and want to paaa on only the beat to our fellow man." The Environment Ministry recently de- cided against conducting a full environ- mental assessment hearing on the river option. Construction can begin for that scheme if and when approval is received. vironment Ministry had concerns about the amount of water that could be ex- tracted from the Grand River, and about the possibility of leachate from garbage dumps upstream. "You could go anywhere in the world today and not find absolutely pure water," he added. "The question is what is the safest water we can get at a reasonable cost?" Sweeney said the Lake Erie pipeline offers a safer long-term solution than the Mannheim recharge option, and cited improving quality of the lake water. A new water source will soon be picked by nt,',',',") council. Fa- vored is the annheim recharge system which would be fully opera- tional in about a decade. "Therd's no evidence that they are leaking mtbut they cpuld," hersaid. - _ Cameron Wright Ian Kirkby photo