If you’re anything like me, you probably find yourself concerned about the detrimental impact convenience consumer culture is having on our planet.
In turn, that likely translates into making an effort to reduce needless waste and to as much as possible conserve resources.
From recycling and composting to avoiding wasteful products like bottled water — frequently refilling a reusable container over the past few years has not inconvenienced me in the slightest — there are many ways to shrink our environmental footprints.
Another habit that I’ve tried to include in my daily routine is to avoid running water longer than necessary. For years, I’ve lived by the philosophy of, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.”
However, a recent and rather unpleasant experience has prompted me to reconsider my approach.
Following the extremely cold conditions that often saw temperatures dropping to below -30 C and even lower at times — without any reprieves from chinook winds — our water service line was among several in Sundre to freeze up last week.
In an average year, there are usually only a couple of such incidents that occur, typically on mobile homes with insufficiently insulated pipes. This winter saw that number quadruple to about eight, as of last week, with operations manager Jim Hall anticipating more.
Our home is in the newest northeast subdivision, and to be honest, freezing pipes were probably the last of our concerns. While we make an effort not to draw more water than we need, we generally shower every morning, flush the toilet a couple of times, and clean our dishes in the kitchen sink, with at least one or two loads of laundry every week.
We’re rarely gone longer than overnight, and if we are, we try to arrange for someone to drop by to keep an eye on things.
So when I left for work last Monday after experiencing no issues with our water during our regular morning routine, suffice it to say I was rather surprised when I got home early that afternoon only to discover not a single tap was working.
Unfortunately, a not inexpensive attempt to clear the line with a steamer truck was unsuccessful. Fortunately, the town crew in collaboration with a local plumber were able to temporarily restore our water by connecting a metered hose to our house from neighbours who were willing to let us essentially piggyback onto their service. Now, we play the waiting game until the deep underground frost finally thaws and we can just switch back to our service.
Albeit unpleasant, this whole ordeal has at least served as a learning lesson. While we plan to generally speaking continue conserving water throughout the rest of the year, we certainly won’t be so shy about taking longer showers and flushing more often during the next deep freeze.
A slight increase on the water bill definitely beats the hassle and cost of dealing with frozen pipes.
And all of the water that goes down the sewage lines is not really wasted — after being treated in the municipality’s lagoon, it all ends up right back in the Red Deer River.
So next time we’re plunged into a polar vortex, don’t hesitate to let it flow, let it flow, let it flow!
