By Laurenn Canofari
Credit: Pixabay
Have you ever wondered when you turn on your tap where the water comes from? Maybe the mountains, the river, ocean, lakes even? Well, here in the Lower Mainland all our water comes from the Capilano, Seymour, and Coquitlam reservoirs. The water that is stored in these reservoirs comes from groundwater or surface water sources, such as rivers, throughout the province (MetroVancouver, 2022).
BC has some of the cleanest drinking water in the world! After the water is extracted from the source, it goes through multiple filtration and UV treatments before it reaches your glass. Your drinking water either comes from the Capilano Filtration Plant, which has the capacity to treat up to 1.8 billion litres of water per day, or the Coquitlam water treatment plant, which can treat up to 380 million litres per day (WaterToday, 2021).
Every day at these facilities, water experts test the filtered water, to ensure it is safe to consume and for household use. It’s tested at the treatment plants, and then once again once it reaches your municipality. These testing procedures are crucial to the treatment process and for public health of course (MetroVancouver, 2022)!
Each day, over a billion litres of water, is delivered to the consumer, this number reaches just over 1.5 billion in the summertime due to people watering their lawns and trying to cool off. After the water leaves the filtration facilities, it flows through the pipes of local municipalities, where it then flows into the taps of local businesses and residents in the community (MetroVancouver, 2022).
Credit: Pixabay
How can you help preserve water?
Turning off your tap when you brush your teeth, or simply reducing that daily 10-minute shower into a 5-minute shower, can help save gallons of water per day. When the demand for water decreases, municipalities have more time to upgrade the water systems and can reduce the high costs that come with the expansion and upgrade of new water treatment infrastructure. Newer water systems lead to cleaner drinking water, so it's a big WIN for everyone! To learn more about how to incorporate water preservation into your daily routine, click the link here
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About the Author:
Laurenn is a third-year student at Capilano University in North Vancouver enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Administration Degree program. She is currently a Research Assistant working on the Sewllkwe Book project, funded by Mitacs. She enjoys social media marketing, creative writing, and learning new skills.