Town of Vegreville

With the Government of Alberta warning of drought conditions in 2024, municipalities have been tasked with undertaking water conservation efforts. Should water conservation become mandatory, this may result in bulk water station closures. The Town of Vegreville will ensure the status of the bulk water station is updated on this page.

Water conservation measures do not have to start when a drought is declared.  Every person, household, business, and organization can take steps to evaluate their water usage and implement measures to decrease it.  

Indoor Water Saving Ideas

In the Bathroom:

• Avoid continually running the water while brushing teeth, shaving, and washing hands.
• Showers (take them instead of baths):
  1. Challenge yourself to spend less time in the shower.
  2. Install a showerhead that allows you to pause water flow while shampooing, conditioning, etc.
• Consider low-flow or dual-flush toilets when replacing them or, if replacement isn’t feasible, consider using a water displacement device such as a bottle filled with sand to decrease the amount of water in the toilet tank.
  1. A standard toilet typically uses 6L of water per flush, but older toilets (manufactured before 1992) can use 13-26L of water per flush.
  2. A low-flow toilet typically uses approximately 5L of water per flush.
  3. A dual-flow toilet typically uses 3-5L of water per flush.
  4. In all cases, consider flushing your toilet less. 

In the Kitchen:

• While waiting for hot water to wash dishes, capture the lukewarm water for watering plants, filling humidifiers, etc.
• Fill water jugs to store in the fridge for cold drinking water instead of running the water until it is cold.
• Only rinse dishes destined for the dishwasher when necessary and only run the dishwasher when it is full.
• Consider composting kitchen waste instead of using your garbage disposal.  See the Outdoor Water Saving Ideas Section for more on this.   

In General:

• Repair plumbing leaks – dripping faucets, showerheads, leaking toilets, etc.
• Only run the washing machine for full loads of laundry.

Outdoor Water Saving Ideas

• Start a backyard compost.  Applying compost to gardens and top-dressing your lawn adds moisture to the soil and helps it retain moisture.  
• Add mulch to flower beds to help retain moisture and consider drought-resistant plants and grasses when landscaping.
• Harvest rainwater for outdoor watering.
• Lawns:
  1. Aerate in the spring.
  2. Water only during the cooler morning hours to prevent evaporation before the roots can absorb it.  Consider only watering 2-3 times per week.
  3. When cutting, leave blades 3”- 4” long.  This allows the blades to retain moisture longer.
  4. Consider grasscycling (not bagging your grass clippings).  Leaving short clippings (1” or less in length) on your lawn adds nutrients to the soil and helps reduce the need for watering.
• Sweep driveways, sidewalks, paths, and decks instead of washing or power-washing.