Clean drinking water: conserving and recuperating it

LIMITING WATER RUNOFF

Your environmental vigilance must also include your land: no conventional lawn, no excessive watering and no invasive plants. Reduce the number of impervious surfaces (pavements, driveways, etc.) By following these simple rules, you will reduce water consumption, especially during the summer months, as well as the risk of incidents related to storm sewer backups.

We like :

A water sprinkler uses nearly 1,000 liters (264 gallons) of water per hour, the equivalent amount of water that a person drinks in more than a year!

  • Groundcover that requires little maintenance — no to Kentucky Bluegrass
  • Species that are adapted to the land in which they grow — yes to indigenous species
  • Permeable soils that absorb rainwater — yes to permeable pavement, coarse gravel, pervious concrete and wood chips
  • Vegetated surfaces and urban agriculture, even on rooftops!

USING RAINWATER

EauPotable EauDePluie

30% of water is used on one’s outdoor property… where it does not need to be clean enough to drink. For watering the garden or washing the car, nothing is better than rainwater, which is both plentiful and free of charge.

However, collecting rainwater requires motivation and an eye towards green living, but it is within your reach: simply install a barrel under the eavestrough. The installation of an underground cistern represents a more significant investment, but this system will allow sufficient water for all outdoor needs.

TREATED WASTEWATER

Greywater is the result of normal daily activities of a household. It is possible to reuse it, thereby putting it to good use and consequently reducing the use of clean drinking water.

A water treatment system that reuses greywater (laundry, dishwashing, showers, household cleaning) for the toilet and the garden — Ecoflo, Enviro-Septic and a reed bed filtration system, all of which are wastewater purification systems, to name but a few, are very efficient. By installing an Ecoflo system, the architects of the ERE 132 home have exceeded the boundaries of water recuperation and have reduced to zero the amount of water directed to the water treatment plant.

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