The Citizen, 1989-08-02, Page 5Drop by drop
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1989. PAGE 5.
Shortage
Water ban a necessary restriction
Lawn watering is just one of the reasons that water
consumption in the villages of Brussels and Blyth almost
doubles during the summer months.
BY BONNIE GROPP
Many things in life are so easily
taken for granted, especially those
things that we consider a daily part
of life. We are all aware of the
effect of drought on farming areas,
but what we do know of how the
problem is dealt with in urban
communities, and how does it
affect us.
What happens to our water
during the summer months? Why
do we have water shortages and
who decides when it is time to
impose a watering restriction?
According to Brussels Clerk-
Treasurer Hugh Hanly, residents
of the village consume 120,000
gallons of water a day. This
increases during the summer
months, when water is used more
frequently, to between 240,000 and
250,000 gallons daily. To help
determine these amounts there is a
crest valve on the distribution
system at the wells that measures
the daily consumption.
The Village of Blyth does not
have a crest valve and therefore
can only make an estimate of the
increase. Mrs. Helen Grubb, Clerk-
Treasurer of Blyth reports that in
July thus far, the two pumps in
Blyth are running at about 12 hours
a day. In February of this year, one
pump had averaged seven hours a
day while the other had run only
five hours a day. She has no way of
determining how much more water
was consumed, however, as with
out the valve they can not ascertain
the capacity the pumps operated at
during those times. “The hours
mean something, but are not 100
per cent,’’ Mrs. Grubb states.
One thing is certain, though, and
that is that water is a precious
commodity in both villages in the
long, hot summer months. Brussels
has even had to impose a total lawn
watering ban to maintain an accep
table water level in their reservoir.
With little precipitation this sum
mer, people have a tendency to use
more water, for watering lawns and
flower beds. During the day, that is
extremely wasteful as it evaporates
so quickly. Also, with the tempera
tures soaring residents use more
water for bathing, washing, and
cooling off.
“When this happens,’’ explains
Mr. Hanly, “the reservoir goes
down because the well pump can’t
keep up with the consumption.’’ A
light then comes on at the well
located near the Brussels Park.
This tells the Works Department
that the reservoir is down. This
greatly dimishes the fighting capa
bilities of the Fire Department in
the event of a fire, which is the
greatest concern during a water
shortage. “Firemen can get rid of a
lot of water in a hurry, so we have
to keep the reservoir at a decent
level,’’ states Mr. Hanly. Also, he
points out, as the occurrence of fire
is an increased hazard during dry
spells, this is a double problem.
Both Blvth and Brussels have
two wells with a total of four
pumps, although only two of those
pumps will run at a time. These
each have a maximum gallonage
that they can pump per hour. The
pump in Brussels will pump 380
gallons per minute when operating
at full capacity. However, running
at full capacity all the time is hard
on the pump, so they usually don’t.
One pump moves water from the
well to the reservoir while the other
pumps it to the homes. It is when
the pump filling the reservoir can
not keep up with the demand that
the light comes on. The pump is
then shut down by a village
employee who has checked the well
on a regular basis. A switch has
recently been purchased in Brus
sels that will automatically shut
down the well when the water level
drops to a specific level. The north
pump will then automatically kick
in. This will save in over-time hours
for the work crew, who must for
now manually shut down and turn
on the wells. The second well
operates until the reservoir has a
chance to refill.
This is also how the village
employees can discern when a
water main has broken. “In the
Hugh Hanly, Clerk-Treasurer of Brussels checks the gauges at the Number One Well located near the
Brussels Park. Village employees have been keeping a close eye on the water level of the reservoir
during these summer months to ensure that it is kept at an appropriate level.
Then and now
BY RAYMOND CANON
Those people such as myself who
are hovering around the 39 mark
and plan to stay there for some
time will know what I mean when I
ask them if they watch a place
change over the years and come to
realize that it is not the same place
as when they first knew it.
I was thinking about this when I
was going through the sound
barrier along one of Germany’s
four-lane highways and I realized
that the city of St. Gallen in
Switzerland, which has been part of
me for about 40 years, is currently
spring, consumption isn’t usually
heavy, so if the demand is high, we
know there is a lot of water going
somewhere,” says Mr. Hanly.
Both the Fire Department and
the Ministry of the Environment
like to be informed on water supply
and demand, so the wells and
reservoir are also checked so that
records may be kept. These records
help Mr. Hanly work out the
monthly high and lows in addition
to the averages. For instance, in
1988 the average daily consump
tion of water in Brussels worked
out to 153,242 gallons. Also in July
of that year the total consumption
was 5,057,200 gallons compared to
the December total of 4,753,000
gallons.
According to Mr. Hanly, there
are many ways people abuse water
supply without even knowing. For
example, we all know that washing
our car is wasteful, under these
conditions, but we all presume that
it doesn’t really take all that much
water. Were you aware that wash
ing your car uses as much water as
watering your lawn for one hour?
not the same place as it was when I
first became acquainted with it.
Following are some of my thoughts
about the then and now of this
picturesque city.
Like a lot of other cities,' the
street cars that used to roll from
various directions to the centre
near the station have been replaced
by more modem trolley buses and
the tracks removed. The station
itself is exactly the same as when I
first saw it; it is just as busy as ever
for, while rail travel may be an
endangered species in Canada, it is
anything but in Switzerland. In
addition the little narrow-gauge
railways that used to amble up to
the quaint hamlets of Speicher and
Trogen still operate as they have in
Also, Mr. Hanly points out that a
running toilet or a leaky faucet can
use up to 20 gallons of water a day.
That doesn’t sound like much until
you multiply it by 100 households,
which is quite likely. Then you have
2,000 gallons used that are serving
no special purpose.
Though Blyth doesn’t have a
watering restriction as yet they too,
are watching their reservoir close
ly. Checks are made every day to
ensure that the water level hasn’t
dropped too far.
It is a serious concern and one
everyone must concern themselves
with. Mr. Hanly states that it will
take one day of steady, continuous
rain to alleviate the situation in
Brussels. “With more consistent
rain, there would not be a problem
as the demand would not be so
great,” he says. However, until
that time there will still be a total
lawn watering ban in Brussels, as it
is more important to the well-being
of the residents of the village to
maintain a safe level of water than
it is to have green lawns.
the past as does the train to
Appenzell. The only time that I
took either of these trains was
when, as a young and foolish boy, I
decided to climb the nearby Saen-
tis, an 8,000’ peak that I could see
from my bedroom window. When I
look at the mountain now, I wonder
why I ever did such a thing.
When I went to school, the
university was a small building not
far from the downtown area. Like
many other institutes of higher
learning, it has grown consider
ably; in St. Gallen’s case, it has
moved up the hill. I wish it had
done so earlier; it was a long tiring
walk uphill every day for me.
Where it is now, I would have an
Continued on page 6