Editor:
What am I missing here? When I contacted the SCRD in regards to putting Rainman portable watermakers/desalinators on a water conservation rebate program, I was told they weren’t cost-effective versus the energy they drew.
I contacted BC Hydro and inquired as to how much it would cost for a 1,300-watt unit to run 24/7 for a full month. I was told that this would be a cost of $101.15. These units can make up to 3,360 litres per day, which means over 100,000 litres per month for $100. Or one cent per hundred litres.
Yes, there would be the added cost of some very inexpensive filters that would vary on the type of water being filtered. But doesn’t it still make more sense to invest in something that makes water from a sustainable source, like the ocean that we’re so close to, than spend millions of dollars on water meters, merely helping to conserve water that we’re not getting any more of? Especially in the case of businesses like the Splash ’n Shine car wash or the breweries and distilleries that should be financially encouraged by the SCRD to be making water from an alternate source if possible. I don’t get it.
Erik Popivich, Gambier Island
