July 2007
U.S. Water News Online
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Twenty municipalities in Canada and nine in the United States have adopted a goal of reducing water consumption 15 percent by 2015, according to a coalition of Great Lakes cities.
Among the largest participants are Chicago; Grand Rapids; Buffalo, N.Y.; Hamilton, Ontario; Montreal; Rochester, N.Y.; Toledo, Ohio; and Toronto.
Eleven of the 29 municipalities already have formal water-conservation plans in place, officials at the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative said.
The Chicago-based group is a coalition of mayors and other local officials from the two neighboring nations that works with federal, state and provincial governments to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes.
The mayors within the group passed a resolution last year to which municipalities could voluntarily commit that calls for the 15 percent reduction in water use. Some cities, such as Toronto, already had established conservation programs.
Toronto's plan, in place since 2001, will cost an estimated $74.3 million through 2011 but save the city more than $220 million in equivalent capital-infrastructure costs.
It's also expected to save $29 million in operating costs during the period and $4.5 million per year thereafter. The Toronto plan also will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and lower residential water bills, the coalition said.
The group's representatives plan to reconvene before 2015 to develop a 2025 goal.
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