The City of
The rainwater harvesting bus wash project has saved more than 1-million litres of water since it began running in 2014. That's enough water to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools.
"Conserving water is something we ask our residents to consider, conserving water and monitoring their water use, so it's important for the municipality to make those efforts as well," said Emily Stahl, Manager of Technical Services for the city's Water Services department in an interview.
Large tanks at the Guelph Transit depot on
More efficient spray nozzles have also been installed that reduced water use by 25 per cent.
Rain water not only saves a huge amount of drinking water, it's also softer and uses less chemicals to achieve the same result, Stahl said.
The city partnered with Elmira-based Enviro-Stewards Inc. on designing the project, made possible through a provincial grant in 2012.
Stahl said the city's contribution to the project was $153,000, which is expected to be recovered through savings in 15 years, sooner if other efficiencies are found.
On Thursday the city won an award at the Water's Next awards in
"This is pretty unique on this scale," Stahl said of the project. "Now that it's up and running great we have other municipalities interested in what we're doing.
"We need to be smart about how we use water, not just at home but also at work and at city facilities."
Stahl said the project is a "showcase" for the city and opens up other future possibilities at other city buildings, such as storing rain water for use in irrigation and toilets.