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Running on dry

By Kevin Cavanagh
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 5, 2005)

The heat and scarcity of rain that is defining this summer has placed a heavy burden on our electricity grid and water treatment capacity.

Some residents in the rural Carlisle area of Hamilton - which is not on the 1,874 kilometres of city water mains, and instead draws water from community wells - complain their grass is being baked brown because there’s insufficient H2O to soak the neighbourhood’s massive lawns.

The combination of increasing demands and changing climate has forced Ontarians to rethink their attitudes toward using commodities we once felt were unlimited. Of course, rolling brownouts and water restrictions of recent summers have helped us get the point.

Trees stressed from lack of water need occasional watering, but dormant grass comes back to life with cooler, wet weather. It’s just not as pretty when it’s brown.

It’s unreasonable that some households want to use more water on their grass in a day than s ome families need for drinking and washing. The crucial factor is not ability to pay, it’s sensible use of a finite resource.