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| WHAT A DIFFERENCE A
five-minute shower with a standard shower head uses
100 litres of water. A five-minute shower with a low-flow
shower head uses only 35 litres of water. |
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You bet we care
There are thousands of men and women in Saskatchewan who
work with water. Their jobs range from the emergency crews
that can be found fixing a broken water main on a cold winter
night, to a technician testing drinking water to be sure its
safe for human consumption, to a researcher taking mud samples
from the Saskatchewan River.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has locals
throughout the province. CUPE is the largest public sector
union and it represents a wide variety of water workers in
the province. The President of this Saskatchewan union speaks
of his members with conviction "water workers are as
essential to society, and to the environment, as the most
skilled surgeon, you bet we care about water".
Water workers come in all sizes, genders and age groups.
Some are self-employed, some work for small service companies
like plumbers, others work for the large corporations and
government organizations. Some work in computer rooms while
others patrol irrigation canals or operate hydro electricity
plants. The range of the jobs they do is as wide as Saskatchewan's
horizon itself.
Regina sewage treatment plant –
one of the best
Regina's tertiary wastewater treatment facilities are one
of the best in Canada. As the name implies, the City's approximately
70 million litres of wastewater produced each day is processed
through three stages of treatment before it is released into
the environment.
Regina's network of sewage lines, if placed end to end, would
stretch almost to Calgary. All of these ultimately feed into
the McCarthy Boulevard pumping station. From here the wastewater,
from all the City's bathtubs, toilets, sinks and washing machines
undergoes primary treatment. This is where the solids like
sand and gravel as well as organic sludge is separated from
the water. The sludge is broken down by bacteria-releasing
methane, a major greenhouse gas. The secondary and tertiary
treatments further break down the sludge by bacterial and
chemical action. Phosphorous is also removed. The finishing
touch occurs from early spring to mid-autumn when nearly 2000
ultraviolet lamps disinfect the effluent before it is released
into Wascana Creek. At this final stage, Regina's treated
wastewater meets high environmental standards.
Other uses for the wastewater are being pursued. The potential
of capturing the methane gas released from the sludge and
using it as an industrial fuel or to drive electric generators
is one possibility. The City, with the assistance of the Green
Municipal Enabling Fund, is studying this option. If, for
example, a methane capture-electric generator project could
be cost justified, the wastewater treatment facilities would
not only remove pollutants from the water but would help reduce
the amount of methane released into the atmosphere. Not an
insignificant consideration given all the concerns about climate
change. |
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