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“Contractors need to be looking at storm water regulations that are kicking in. Municipalities are changing requirements for storm water collection. Rainwater harvesting is a great solution to this, as well as getting tax credits by putting rainwater harvesting in. Now that there are codes and standards out there people are getting on board, so rainwater harvesting is starting to be more accepted,” says David Crawford.

The simple but innovative design was developed by Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office (WREMO), eight councils in the Wellington region and rainwater tank manufacturer the Tank Guy. “The tanks provide a convenient, easy and relatively affordable way for people to prepare for an emergency. Their popularity is already helping people to store water and improve the resilience of the Wellington region,” says Mayor Nick Leggett.

“The properties that are being developed in the Cowan Point area of Bowen Island have a restrictive covenant which requires everyone to have a rainwater harvesting system. That means all outdoor water use must come from your storage tank. In our case, however, the tanks are providing both outdoor water use and our toilet water,” states Kim Stephens

“In just two years of program implementation, 23 Water Smart communities have reduced community water demand by an average of 12 per cent, with some achieving savings of more than 30 per cent. How? By focusing their conservation activities where the potential savings are biggest: reducing leakage in the distribution system,” reports Meredith Hamstead.

“Australia is set to roll out intelligent rainwater tank systems that can be controlled through smart phones and automatically control the release of water. The system pre-empts the release of water from set points that are chosen by the user,” reports Adrian Blinman.

“We’ve done several projects like that, where people don’t have storm sewers at all. They might have one acre, and the land has to be able to absorb all the water, and it can’t. There would be too much water going on to a neighbour’s property,” states Bob Burgess.

“There is a significant increase in water use during summer months. This increase is primarily driven by outdoor water consumption. Typical irrigation systems have significant room for improvement in terms of how they control water use and the goal of this rebate program is to reduce summertime peak water demand by improving irrigation efficiency,” states Marc Rutten.

“To continue enjoying the quality of drinking water we all want and need, Canadians must understand that it’s a finite resource. A dripping faucet might not seem like a big deal, but it takes a lot of energy for municipalities to clean, treat and deliver water to most Canadian households,” stated Bob Sandford.

“This survey is a tale of romance between Canadians and their treasured water. But there’s a significant gap between romance and reality. We found a troubling lack of awareness not only about water conservation but also the very pressing need for investment in infrastructure. Mobilizing the political will to deal with these issues will be a challenge,” stated Chris Coulter.

“Across the country, governments, decision makers, civil society, and people from across sectors are realizing the critical importance of clean, accessible fresh water, and the need for innovative solutions to the governance challenges facing this vital resource,” states Oliver Brandes.