Get Involved
Join a local organization. Our organization would welcome your participation. (See the bottom of this page for contact information.) Read articles related to water. Familiarize yourself with the terms, the issues, the problems and how you can help. Talk to your neighbours. Talk to your political representatives. Visit the web site of the Regional District of Nanaimo to determine which electoral area you are in. Find our where your water comes from. Contact your water purveyor. Find out where the wells and aquifers are in your area. Visit your local rivers and streams. Learn to love and protect that which your life depends upon.
Current Issues
According to a recent article by Phillipp Harper (November, 2004) MSNBC Science web site:
- About 70 percent of the Earth is covered by water.
- The total water supply of the planet is estimated at 326 million cubic miles. (One cubic mile of water equals more than 1 trillion gallons.)
- If all of the planet's water was poured in the United States, it would cover all the land in an ocean with a depth of 90 miles.
- An estimated 3,100 cubic miles of water is in the planet's atmosphere at any one time, mostly in the form of vapor. If it were all dumped in the form of rain, the entire surface of the earth would be covered in one inch of water. (In the “Did you know?” category: Water is the only natural substance that can exist in all three states — liquid, solid and gas.)
- The continental United States receives anywhere from 3.5 to 4 cubic miles — 12 trillion gallons — of precipitation each day.
Fully 97 percent of the Earth’s total water supply is the salt variety found in oceans and seas. As for the fresh 3 percent, most is stored in the 7 million cubic miles found frozen in glaciers and ice caps; another 2 million cubic miles is underground, most within one-half mile of the surface. The most available fresh water supply — in lakes, inland seas and rivers — accounts for only 60,000 cubic miles.
Americans use more than 400 billion gallons per day of both surface and ground water, much of it consumed in and around the home. Some facts to consider, courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency, next time you’re brushing your teeth or listening to a leaky faucet in the middle of the night:
- The average American uses about 160 gallons of water a day at a cost of 27 cents.
- Two-thirds of the water used in an average home is used in the bathroom, much of it consumed by the toilet, which requires four to six gallons per flush.
- The average person uses 2 gallons of water per day to brush his teeth.
- A 10-minute shower uses about 55 gallons of water.
- Lawn watering accounts for at least 50 percent of a typical household’s water consumption.
- Automatic dishwashers require approximately 9 to 12 gallons of water per load of dishes, compared with the 20 gallons required to do the same dishes by hand.
- If every household in America had a faucet that dripped once each second, 928 million gallons of water a day would leak away.
RDN Water Service Areas
- Decourcey
- Nanoose Bay
- Fairwinds
- Madrona
- Wall Beach
- West Bay Estates
- Surfside
- San Pareil
- Driftwood
- Morningside
- French Creek
- Englishman River
- Arbutus Park estates
- Melrose Community
Other Local Water Services
- Bowser Waterworks - 757-8363
- Epcor (French Creek area) - 951-2460 Epcor's Web Site (FrenchCreek)
- Little Qualicum Water Service - 752-2687
- Qualicum Bay & Horne Lake Water Service - 757-8507
- City of Parksville - 954-4665 (Keith Dumond)
- Town of Qualicum Beach - 752-6921
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