Desperately seeking drip drop

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by George Maddux

Over the last few years, people have embraced new and inconvenient little rituals: slapping on sunscreen, strapping on seat belts, popping on bicycle helmets. Reseau Environnemental, the government-funded network, is hoping to exploit the trend by making you do little things to use less agua.

Unlike sun worshippers, car travellers and bikers--who are motivated in turn by fear of skin cancer, demerit points and smashed skulls--the organization hopes you'll be motivated by hatred of waste. "We're saying stop wasting. Water is precious, it has a value and we must save. We're asking people to use water in a rational way," says Michel Leclair, volunteer coordinator of the campaign and a water bureaucrat at the City of Laval. Partly due to leaky pipes, Montrealers, on average, use the equivalent of 1,000 one-litre bottles of water per day, he says. It's enough to fill a phone booth and is twice the amount they use in Toronto. It also costs Quebec $1-billion annually. "That's a lot of money, considering many don't think we pay for it because it's free out of the tap," says Leclair, who particularly dislikes dripping taps and automatic urinals. He urges people to think of ways to stop waste. For example, when you empty your swimming pool, use the water to water the lawn.