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REPORT TOMAYOR AND COUNCIL
 
PRESENTED:
 MAY 25, 2009 - SPECIAL MEETING
REPORT:
 09-72
FROM:
 ENGINEERING DIVISION
FILE:
 
5280-23/10
SUBJECT:
 2008 WATER WISE PROGRAM SUMMARY AND 2009 PLANNED ACTIVITIES
RECOMMENDATION:
That
Council receive the “2008 Water Wise Program Summary and 2009 Planned Activities”report for information.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Township of Langley’s annual Water Wise program was implemented in 2002. In 2008, theWater Wise program included a Water Conservation Challenge pilot project, which usedcommunity-based social marketing (CBSM) principles to promote sustainable lawn wateringpractice in the Walnut Grove area. Results showed that those participating households thatreported excessive lawn watering pre-pilot were able to significantly reduce their lawn wateringtime per week post-pilot.Given the success of the pilot, the 2009 Water Wise program will return to Walnut Grove with anexpanded Water Conservation Challenge. The Water Wise door-to-door team will askhouseholds to pledge to practice sustainable lawn watering, either by choosing to not water their lawns at all (i.e. letting their lawn ‘go golden’) or by limiting their lawn watering to 1 hour or 1inch per week. . To help meet the challenge, participating households may be provided with arain gauge to measure rainfall and a hose timer to automatically shut-off their water after onehour. A follow-up telephone survey will document changes in lawn watering behaviour.The Walnut Grove challenge will be complemented by an extensive Township-wide communityoutreach program consisting of public workshops and forums, presence at community events,media announcements, and information provided on Township web pages. The Township willcontinue to offer rain barrels, as well as indoor and outdoor water conservation kits at asubsidized cost to Township residents. Rural residents on private well will also be encouragedto become members of the Private Well Network.
NB To enable sports fields to function effectively it is necessary to continue to water them except during those times when extreme water restrictions are in place. Sports fields are constructed on sand bases sothat they drain quickly and computerized systems are used to irrigate them responsibly. This informationis provided since periodically, Council may hear directly from residents about their concern if their lawnsare golden, and our soccer fields are green.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide Council with a summary of the 2008 Water Wiseprogram and planned activities for the 2009 Water Wise program.
 
2008 WATER WISE PROGRAM SUMMARY AND 2009 PLANNED ACTIVITIES
 Page 2 . . .
f:\data\council\2009 agenda\05_25\special agenda\water wise 2009.doc
 
BACKGROUND/HISTORY:
Water Wise was launched in 2002 as part of the Water Resources Management Strategy, andincludes an innovative public outreach program aimed at educating homeowners aboutgroundwater and what they can do to protect this valuable community resource. The LangleyEnvironmental Partners Society (LEPS) and the Township work closely to implement thisprogram which includes door-to-door visits, forums, workshops and subsidized initiatives. Since2002, the Water Wise team has visited more than 10,200 homes over the Hopington andBrookswood aquifers and in Aldergrove and Fort Langley.In 2008, the door-to-door program took place in a select area of Walnut Grove and included aWater Conservation Challenge pilot project, which used principles of community-based socialmarketing (CBSM) to promote sustainable lawn watering practice. Lawn watering was targetedbecause it typically comprises 40 percent of residential water use in the summer, which is alsowhen demand for water is highest. The pilot project was presented to residents as part of theOur New Environment corporate initiative, which emphasizes the importance of individualactions in support of sustainability.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Water Wise 2008, Water Conservation Challenge Pilot ProjectThe Water Conservation Challenge asked participating households to pledge to practicesustainable lawn watering, which recognizes that a healthy lawn only requires 1 inch or 1 hour of watering, once per week. Provided to residents were a rain gauge to measure the amount of rainfall their lawn was receiving on a weekly basis and a hose timer to automatically shut off their sprinkler after a specified time period. A telephone survey conducted in the fall of 2008was used to assess the post-pilot project lawn sprinkling practices.Key results of the 2008 pilot project are presented below.
•
Of the 500 households in the pilot project study area, 195 households chose toparticipate.
•
51% of participating households reported watering their lawn rarely or never, 31%reported sustainable lawn watering, and 18% reported unsustainable or excessive lawnwatering (i.e. lawn watering exceeding 1 hour per week).
•
For those households reporting excessive lawn watering, average weekly lawn wateringtime was reduced from 145 minutes to 75 minutes as a result of the pilot project, whichequates to an average weekly water use reduction of 1,330 litres per household.
•
Use of the rain gage and hose timer provided to participant households was limited.Reasons cited by residents included ‘lack of understanding’, ‘forgot to use’, and ‘toomuch fuss’.Based on the results of the Water Conservation Challenge pilot project, incorporating CBSMprinciples into Water Wise was deemed a positive development that improved the effectivenessof the program.
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