Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

CAPE DORSET (Nov 01/99) - Since there really is no fresh water on this planet -- Earth just recycles what it started with -- why not speed up the process and reclaim your own water in your own home?

Bill Fandrick, who markets Toronto-based Creative Communities Research Inc.'s water reclamation system through his Yellowknife company Synergy Solutions, believes the North is a prime location for water reclamation.

Fandrick is currently waiting to get Nunavut Government approval to install five units in Cape Dorset.

In Cape Dorset, members of the community spent $1.1 million for trucked water services last year and the hamlet spent a similar amount on operations and maintenance related to water service, said community senior administrative officer Timoon Toonoo.

These water reclamation systems would have "benefits all the way around," he said.

"I think it would be very good for Cape Dorset, for all the smaller communities," he said.

There will be less waste and that means less stress on the communities sewage lagoon, he said.

The problem is initial start-up costs, he adds.

According to Fandrick, the units pay for themselves over two or three years depending on the community and the amount of water needed. Each unit -- they currently can't be built smaller or cheaper -- produces enough water for four or five houses.

Another Northern application is for mining camps, Fandrick adds.

NWT-Nunavut residents spend about $50 per 1,000 litres of water. Southern Canadians spend about 40 cents for that same amount, Fandrick said.

The reclaimed water is used for laundry and flush toilets and is safe for bathing, he said. So safe, he doesn't mind sipping the end product.

So far, Iqaluit and Ndilo each have a house with a water reclamation unit up and running. In Iqaluit the reclaimed water is being used while in Ndilo the water is amid a five-month testing period. Dettah has approved one unit which will connect five houses.

Each unit costs $20,000 and produces 1,000 litres a day. For communities using the truck and haul system, water is the most expensive utility.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funds independent monitoring of the system. The average Northern home uses about 65 litres a day while southern Canadians -- busy washing cars and watering lawns -- use about 300 litres a day.

If Synergy Solutions could take delivery of 100-unit lots, the cost would drop to $12,000 each. It takes up 7.5 square metres (84 square feet) of floor space.

Using reclaimed water for laundry and toilets cuts water costs in half. And if used for bathing, that rises to 75 per cent.