The Township of Centre Wellington has endorsed a rebate program to replace outdated water softeners, which according to the township based on customer service investigations, accounts for a significant amount of water waste.
The Township has explored rebate programs before; according to a report the Residential Toilet Rebate Program has issued more than 50 rebates within the last 18 months which has saved an estimated 1 million litres of water.
The report was presented to Centre Wellington Council on June 15 by the Township’s water conservation coordinator, Ian Duncan.
Duncan said unchecked water softening systems can be quite wasteful.
To mitigate water waste the Township has two rebate options:
The first option is to used demand-based softeners; they only run when needed to prevent unnecessary operation.
Duncan said the demand-based system may also require less maintenance due to contractors typically scheduling the softener to cycle more often than the minimum requirement which in-theory results in less hard water buildup within the system and therefore less maintenance calls.
The Township said the rebate for the first option will be $250.
The second option calls for nucleation/template assisted crystallization with a rebate of $500.
These systems manipulate the nucleation process to break down bigger chunks of calcium carbonate to prevent limescale buildup.
However, what this system does not do is actually create soft water, it just mitigates the adverse effects of hard water on the plumbing without needing salt.
Those eligible for the rebate are residents who own private septic systems within the Township’s sodium and chloride Issue Contributing Areas (ICA).
A graphic showing the ICA’s in Fergus and Elora | Photo Credit: Township of Centre Wellington
Within the ICA’s the Township said more than 530 properties in Fergus and Elora qualify for the rebate; applications must be submitted online and operates on a first-come first-serve basis.
Council endorsed the program on June 15, which is expected to launch some time in July.
