What is York Region Doing to Save Water?
York Region Facilities
Sustainable New Buildings
York Region strives to design, build and operate its facilities in a manner demonstrating leadership in sustainability for the benefit of the environment and our residents.
In 2006 York Region adopted the requirement that all new Regional facilities be constructed to a minimum level of "LEED® Silver". The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building rating system administered by the Canadian Green Building Council is the best-recognized tool for creating sustainable buildings.
Click here for the generic LEED® project checklist. As observed in the LEED® project checklist, one aspect of a sustainable building is water efficiency.
York Region's first LEED® project was the Scott Somerville Fire and Rescue Service Station No. 7-9 and York Region Emergency Medical Services Paramedic Response Station. This facility is a collaborative effort between the City of Vaughan and York Region, and has been awarded LEED® Gold certification by the Canada Green Building Council.
The Housing York Inc., Tom Taylor Place opened in 2008 and is on track to be York Region's first LEED® Gold-certified multi-unit residential facility. This consists of fifty family-living apartments, situated in a 49,000 sq. ft facility in Newmarket.
The water savings goal for this project design is to achieve a 46 per cent reduction in indoor and outdoor water use. Measures include no water for landscaping and dual flush toilets, low flow showers and aerators to achieve an annual savings of 2.4 million litres of water.
The McCleary Court Community Environmental Centre opened in July 2009 and is expected to achieve a LEED® Silver certification for sustainable design and construction practices. The water efficiency measures at this site will include landscaping designed with drought resistant vegetation, installation of low flow faucets (1.9L/min), ultra-low flow showerheads (5.7L/min), and a rainwater harvesting cistern which collects water for toilet and urinal flushing.
LEED® certification is being pursued for the Stouffville Zone 2 Pumping Station. The objective of this project is to build the first Regional water and wastewater facility that is designed, developed and operated to demonstrate leadership in sustainability for the benefit of the environment and our residents. The water efficiency measures at this site include drought resistant landscaping and the installation of ultra-low flow toilets and faucets.
Construction of the first large wastewater processing building to be designed in accordance with LEED® Silver certification requirements is now underway.
The biosolids dewatering, storage and pumping building at the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant will be constructed using strict recycling methods, recycled materials for walls and floors, wall and roof insulation to minimize heating and cooling, high water efficiency facilities, a complex rainwater capture and treatment system, no water landscape features and high efficiency building heating methods.
York Region anticipates that it will be the first award of the LEED® Silver certification to be received upon completion of the construction of this large building housing a wastewater treatment and processing facility.
Sustainable Existing Buildings
The Region has initiated a series of Building Energy Feasibility Studies (BEFS) that target energy and water savings in existing Regional facilities.
The York Region Administrative Centre at 17250 Yonge Street, Newmarket, is the largest of our Regional buildings and offered substantial retrofit opportunities - in spite of being just 14 years old. As part of the retrofits, water efficiency measures were implemented such as:
- Faucet aerators,
- Low-Flow Shower Heads, and
- Low flow toilets.
Other Regional facilities continue to be audited and retrofitted.
Below is a list of measures implemented at Regional facilities that address water efficiency in day-to-day operations:
- Install water-efficient plumbing fixtures (e.g. low flow showerheads, toilets and faucet aerators) to maximize water efficiency within Regional buildings.
- Water efficient landscaping.
- No landscape watering systems are to be installed, eliminating the use of drinking water for landscape watering.
Housing York Inc. has completed both energy and water retrofit projects. In 2008, Housing York Inc. replaced toilets in 500 units, switching from 13-litre toilets to six-litre toilets.
Municipal Summer Water Conservation By-Law
Water for Tomorrow supports local municipal Summer Water Conservation By-laws by providing information and materials to help residents and businesses conserve water during the hottest time of the year, while keeping lawns and gardens healthy. Following the by-law will help reduce outdoor water use restrictions. For more information on your local Summer Water Conservation By-Law Click Here.
Leak Detection
York Region works diligently to ensure that treated water is not lost or wasted through leaks in our water system. In partnership with our nine local municipalities, the Region conducted a leak-detection program to find and fix leaks in our systems. Through identification and repair of leaks, York Region has saved more than eight million litres of water per day.
