At the last Parksville council meeting, councillor Marc Lefebvre asked staff to estimate the amount of water saved as a result of the 534 low-flush toilet rebates issued since the city program began in 2008.
At the meeting council voted to extend the program which gives $75 rebates to residents that install low-flush toilets and there was some debate about the amount of water that would save.
Robert Harary, director of engineering and operations, did some calculations. He said a precise number would be impossible to calculate, and it is easier to estimate the quantity that will be saved in next calendar year.
Assuming no additional rebates are issued, rather than basing it on the past installation dates for all
If the total number of new low-flush toilets stayed at 534 for the next year, based on the industry standard average flushes and the amount saved per flush, the program would save the city 23.3 million liters a year.
That’s 23,300 cubic meters, Harary pointed out, enough to fill nine or 10 olympic swimming pools.