Does Airdrie offer incentives to conserve water?

While Airdrie saw lots of rain over the past week, the threat of a drought still looms with predictions of a hot summer on the way.

Plenty of surrounding communities have different ways to incentivize residents to conserve water, Cochrane and Okotoks being some of them.

One of those is replacing the grass in front yards and backyards with things like rocks, artificial turf, rubber mulch or hardscapes (concrete slabs do not qualify). According to the Town of Cochrane, you could receive a maximum rebate of $150 for making these changes.

According to Eugene Lund, the manager of utility operations for the City of Airdrie, this is not something the city has in place as of right now.

"We are aware of the programs that the town of Okotoks and Cochrane are offering to those residents, but that isn't something that we've discussed internally and decided on at this point."

Lund mentioned they are reviewing some of the different programs that other municipalities are offering and seeing if they could work within Airdrie.

"Our focus over the last few months in terms of water conservation has been completing the updates on our water conservation plan, as well as our water bylaw, and fine-tuning our public education around water conservation and some of the new measures that we have in place."

Airdrie does have two programs that can help conserve water, those include its rain barrel program and toilet rebate program. Currently sold out of rain barrels, the city is waiting on getting a new shipment shortly. The Barrels help catch rainwater for you to use for your plants and garden. The toilet rebate program encourages residents to get new high-efficiency toilets (three per address) and receive 50 dollars per toilet.

" If you purchase a low-flow toilet and provide proof of payment you can get a credit back on your monthly water bill."

To see the changes that have been made to the water bylaws and why they were made, click HERE.

The Town of Olds has also announced that it will be offering two new incentive programs aimed at promoting sustainability and eco-conscious practices. The Town will be starting the Rain Barrel Rebate Program as well as the Home Composter Rebate Program.

"Under these programs, Town of Olds residents who purchase rain barrels and home composters on or after April 22, 2024, are eligible to receive a 50 per cent rebate, up to a maximum of $50 per item," The Town stated.

Earlier this month the province announced the 2024 Drought Response Plan and we are currently at stage four of five.

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