Domestic Water Consumption, 1999

Post By Voon Chen Li

Abstract
The map shows total municipal needs by province and territory. Domestic water consumption includes the quantity of water used for household purposes such as washing, food preparation, and bathing. Across Canada, nearly all of the water used by municipal water systems comes from lakes and rivers the remainder (12% of the total) comes from groundwater. Establishing

and maintaining water systems is costly. There are three major costs: water supply, infrastructure maintenance, and administration. Water prices across Canada are generally low compared to other countries. Monthly bills range between $15 and $90, the lowest being in Quebec, Newfoundland, and British Columbia, and the highest in the Prairie Provinces and northern Canada. Although water usage rates vary across Canada, the overall per capita use is very high compared to that of other industrialized countries. Only the United States has higher rates of municipal water usage.
Can you imagine a city without water? We use it for drinking, cooking, and for other household needs. In 1998, Canadians, on average, used 343 litres of water per person per day. Water is also needed to clean our streets, fight fires, fill public swimming pools, and water lawns and gardens. And then, where would this water go without a sewerage system? It is not surprising that some of the oldest infrastructure built by human society consisted of aqueducts and sewerage systems. Even in Canada, many cities still use parts of water systems that were built not long after the cities were first settled.
Municipal water use refers to all water supplied by a municipality for its residents, businesses and industries. Although municipal water use is a small part of water consumption in Canada (just 11% of all withdrawals for 1991), it is the most visible use for most Canadians.

Sources of Municipal Water
Across Canada, nearly all of the water used by municipal water systems comes from lakes and rivers, the remainder (12% of the total) comes from groundwater. In many places, water is distributed through a series of pipes connected to a municipal water supply system. In smaller centres and in rural areas, it is usually obtained from wells. Water supply systems typically have intake, treatment, storage, and distribution components. Rural residents usually have individual groundwater supplies. Wells must be carefully prepared and maintained to prevent pollution.
In some remote areas, water is delivered by trucks. For example, in the far North, water may have to be trucked to homes that do not have conventional water supplies because the ground is frozen. Water is also delivered by truck in some rural areas where shallow wells tend to go dry.
Where there are piped systems in the North, the pipes are often buried well below the surface (up to 3 or 4 metres down) to get below the worst of the frost. The pipes are also insulated to prevent the water from freezing.
In permafrost areas, there is a different problem. The heat lost from even insulated underground pipes would melt the permafrost and cause the ground to cave in. Therefore, above-ground utilidors (insulated boxes) are used to carry water pipes and sewer pipes to individual residences. These pipes may also carry hot water for heating. The utilidors are heated, insulated, metal or wood-clad enclosures that are generally installed on piles or blocking.

Cost of Water
Establishing and maintaining water systems is costly. There are three major costs:
Water supply: Water usually has to be pumped, stored, moved and treated to make it available in safe form for consumers. It then has to be taken away after use. At all of these stages, infrastructure is needed.
Infrastructure maintenance: Maintenance includes on-going maintenance, but also periodically being upgrading and being increased in capacity.
Administration: There are numerous overhead costs in running a water system.
Water prices across Canada are generally low compared to other countries. Based on 1996 data, the average household pays $27.65 per month, and uses about 30 000 litres per month, for water delivered to the residence. Monthly bills range between $15 and $90, the lowest being in Quebec, Newfoundland, and British Columbia, and the highest in the Prairie provinces and northern Canada.
Although the operating costs for trucked-in water service are very high, the lower capital costs make it more economic than piped service for most northern communities. Consumption is much lower for areas with trucked service, about 200 litres per capita per day in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.