On June 12th the Town of Stratford was awarded a $10,000 cheque from the RBC Bluewater Project. On hand to present the cheque was Mary MacInnis, branch manager of the Queen Street RBC and Kaye Kelly, manager of the University Avenue RBC. Town of Stratford Mayor, David Dunphy accepted the grant on behalf of the Town.
The RBC Blue Water Project is a wide-ranging program dedicated to protecting the world’s most precious natural resource: fresh water. The centre piece of the RBC Blue Water Project is a $50 million charitable commitment to support organizations that are working to protect water in our growing towns and cities. The Town of Stratford was granted $10,000 to support their water conservation programs.
“The Town of Stratford recognizes the tremendous importance of our water and is committed to respecting this natural resource entrusted to us for present and future generations. Our staff with the help of the Stratford Area Watershed Improvement Group (SAWIG), work very hard to educate and provide programs that encourage residents to reduce water consumption,” said Mayor Dunphy.
The Town of Stratford has facilitated a number of water saving initiatives including a low-flow shower head program, rain barrel giveaways and the very successful Water School Program which uses interactive displays to encourage grade 5 students to take an active part in water conservation. With the funding provided from the RBC Blue Water Project the Town plans to deliver a campaign to promote low-flow toilet installation and toilet water saving devices. The campaign will include an interactive model demonstrating the difference between high-flow and high-efficiency toilets and a toilet rebate program. In cases where toilet replacement is not financially feasible, Toilet Tummy water-saving devices will be available; 2 free of charge, to any household.
The majority of water consumption comes from domestic use; toilets represent 30% of indoor water use. Converting to a low-flow toilet can save 80-100 litres of water per toilet per day. With approximately 1400 single-family residences in Stratford, this represents a significant amount of water savings in the municipality.
The RBC Blue Water Project provides critical funding to a variety of national, regional and community-based projects around the world. The Town of Stratford is pleased to be a recipient of this fund and will continue to work closely with SAWIG to ensure our community uses our water resources efficiently and responsibly, building the best community possible.