A program initiative under the Township of Langley's Water Resources Management Strategy, Water Wise informs residents about the importance of local groundwater resources and provides practical information about how to protect their drinking water supply. Water Wise includes a public education and outreach program delivered on an annual basis, as well as other programs that help residents conserve water.
Featured Programs for Township of Langley Residents
Toilet Rebate Program  Changes - February 15, 2010! Rain Barrels Residential Water Saver Kits
Water Wise Public Outreach and Education Program   A primary component of Water Wise is a Public Outreach and Education program, which is delivered jointly by the Township of Langley and Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS). On an annual basis, door to door visits are conducted by the outreach team in different Township communities and neighbourhoods. With their strong community experience, LEPS trains and coordinates the outreach team. Team members are easily identified, wearing program t-shirts and carrying identification at all times.  Key results of the Public Education and Outreach Program from 2002-2007 include: door to door visits to more than 10,200 homes in the Hopington area, Brookswood, Aldergrove and Fort Langley, development and distribution of more than 8,700 "A Resident's Guide to Groundwater" booklets, launch of the Private Well Network with close to 750 members to date, sale of 250 subsidized indoor and outdoor water saver kits to residents, development and delivery of numerous "Groundwater Gurus" workshops for elementary school students, development and delivery of numerous WATER WISE public workshops, and data collected on private wells and septic fields from more than 2,400 properties.    2008 Water Wise In Walnut Grove In 2008, Water Wise was delivered in select areas of Walnut Grove. Residents were encouraged to get 'wise' about groundwater protection. Walnut Grove receives a mixture of municipal groundwater and Metro Vancouver water for household use. The 2008 program included a pilot project called    (Our New Environment) Water Conservation Challenge, which focused on promoting sustainable lawn watering behaviour. Widely recognized is that a healthy lawn only requires 1 hour of watering, or 1 inch of water, per week. In addition to providing general information about water conservation and groundwater protection, the door to door team challenged residents to water their lawns sustainably by following the 1 hour / 1 inch per week objective. Participating households pledged to meet the objective and were provided tools to help do so. Information regarding their post-pilot project lawn watering behaviour, gathered from a follow-up telephone survey, indicated positive results for the pilot project. Results of the    Water Conservation Challenge pilot project are presented below. Data gathered during the door to door visit found just over half of the households surveyed choose to not regularly water their lawns. This is the preferred sustainable lawn watering behaviour. For the remaining households, average weekly lawn watering time was 97 minutes. Post-pilot survey data found average weekly lawn watering time decreased to 69 minutes. Some households reported lawn watering exceeding 2 hours per week. Average weekly lawn watering time for these households was 145 minutes. Post-pilot project survey data indicate these households were able to reduce weekly lawn watering to 75 minutes. Studies show that household demand for water is highest in summer and lawn watering is a big reason why. Watering lawns sustainably reduces summertime demand. Reducing weekly lawn sprinkling from 97 to 69 minutes results in daily water savings of 76 litres per household. For those households with an average weekly lawn watering time of 145 minutes, reducing weekly lawn sprinkling to 70 minutes results in daily water savings of 190 litres per household.  2009 Water Wise Program (Update for August 5th) The Water Wise Team is visiting Walnut Grove again this summer, delivering the  Water Conservation Challenge. The challenge promotes sustainable lawn watering and builds upon its successes in 2008. Residents who come on board with the Challenge pledge to either water their lawn less than 1 hour once per week or to "Go Golden" by not watering their lawns at all (or rarely watering) and letting the grass go dormant for the season.   Changes to the Challenge for 2009 include an increased focus on helping homeowners to reduce over watering, and greater recognition for those who pledge to not water at all by letting their lawns turn a beautiful shade of gold for the summer! Even through this record heat the Water Wise Team has been hard at work to bring this challenge to all of Walnut Grove. The hard work is paying off already as this summer over 1000 homes have been visited, with a high acceptance rate of the Challenge by residents! If you missed the Water Wise Team when they were in your area during the day, please keep an eye out for them in the early evening as they will be returning to those homes which have been missed. For more information, or to obtain a Water Conservation pledge and lawn sign, please see the contact information below.     Water Wise Program - General Information Note: The Water Wise Program is always looking for volunteers. For information about volunteering, please visit the Volunteer Opportunities section of the Water Wise website. To get involved in other ways please contact the Environmental Coordinator (604-533-6082, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), or LEPS (604-514-4552,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Information typically provided by the WATER WISE Team to Township of Langley households: Township of Langley Water Conservation brochure (2.13 MB PDF) Toilet Rebate Brochure and Application Form (786 KB PDF) Use Water Wisely (GVRD publication) (359 KB PDF) Water Wise Gardening (GVRD publication) (3.98 MB PDF) Free Lawn Sign Make the neighbourhood a better place: a Resident's guide to natural yard care for the Lower Mainland (GVRD publication) (2.30 MB PDF)   Toilet Rebate Program Important! All rebate applications received by the Township on or after February 15, 2010 are subject to the following rebate structure: High Efficiency Toilets (HET) will receive an $80 rebate 6 Litre Flush Toilets will receive a $40 rebate Note: a HET is a dual flush toilet, or a single flush toilet with a flushing volume of 4.8 litres or less.   Here's what you need to do:  1.       Determine if you're eligible (scroll down page to see eligibility criteria)   2.       Download and review the toilet rebate application form for printing   3.       Purchase and install a CSA or Warnock Hersey approved 6 litre toilet or High Efficiency Toilet, replacing your 13 litre or greater toilet   4.       We strongly recommend you select a toilet which has a performance rating of 350 or higher. For information on performance ratings, download the latest report on Maximum Performance Testing of Popular Toilet Models, 15th Edition from the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association.  Performance is rated on a 1000 point scale and reflects waste removal efficiency   5.       Remove all plastics, metals, and toilet seat from your old toilet.  Ceramic will be recycled.  Your old toilet(s) will be checked when you bring them in and you will be provided tools to remove plastics, metals, and toilet seats, if necessary   6.    Bring the completed application form, original receipt for the new toilet, and old toilet to the Township's Operations Centre (address below). Original receipts will be photocopied and then returned to you. Approved rebates will be mailed within 4 to 6 weeks of receiving your application Township of Langley Operations Centre 4700 - 224 Street, Langley Hours of operation: Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm   Eligibility Criteria: Available only for Township of Langley residents on Township water supplies. Residential use only. Applicant must be property owner or owner's representative. Toilet(s) being replaced must have a flushing volume of 13 litres or greater. Only for houses built before 2004. New toilets must be CSA or Warnock Hersey certified and must not exceed 6.0 litres per flush. Not eligible for toilets purchased before June 1, 2006. Not eligible for toilets replaced as part of any construction activity requiring a building permit.   Please Note: Select applications for toilet rebates will be subject to site inspection to confirm that the new toilet was installed. Frequently Asked Questions: How many rebates are left? How do I figure out the flushing volume of the toilet that I'm replacing? What do I do with my old toilet? Do low-flow toilets really work? Does anyone test these toilets for performance? What does "MaP rating" mean (Maximum Performance Rating)? Can I just replace part of my old toilet and be eligible for the rebate? Am I still eligible if a plumber supplied and installed the new toilet(s)? I am a retailer who wishes to promote the program. How would I do this? What if I have other questions not covered by this FAQ? How many rebates are left? The program is ongoing and we are accepting rebate applications for residents on municipal water. The Township of Langley reserves the right to withdraw the rebate offer at any time. How do I figure out the flushing volume of the toilet that I'm replacing? First look for a stamp on your toilet that lists the flushing volume. It may be on the inside or rear of the tank, on the tank label, on the top of the tank, or on the flush valve.   If you can't find a stamp you will have to measure to tank to calculate its volume. This is very easy to do by following three simple steps: 1.    Using a ruler or measuring tape: Record the length, width, and depth of water in the tank. Record measurements in centimetres!   2.    Use a calculator to multiply the length (cm) by the width (cm) by the depth (cm) and record this number.   3.    Divide the number from Step 2 by 1000 and record the result. The result is the flushing volume of your toilet measure in litres per flush. For example: Step 1: Using a ruler or tape measure you record; a length of 40cm, width of 30cm, and depth of water 20cm for your old toilet tank. Step 2: 40 times 30 times 20 = 24,000 Step 3: 24,000 divided by 1000 = 24 litres per flush. If you have problems calculating the volume, contact the Environmental Coordinator at 604-533-6082 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .   Remember - you need to include the flushing volume of your old toilet on the application form for your rebate to be processed and approved. What do I do with my old toilet? Old toilets are brought to the Township of Langley Operations Centre for recycling at the same time you submit your application form and original receipt. All metals, plastics, and toilet seats must be removed, prior to drop-off. The ceramic from the old toilets is crushed and reused as fill material or road base. The Operations Centre is located in Murrayville at 4700 - 224 Street. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 4:30pm. Weekend drop offs are not available. Do low-flow toilets really work? Does anyone test these toilets for performance? Yes! The Township's Toilet Rebate Program has been in place since 2006 and feedback we have received regarding performance has been overwhelmingly positive.   Low flow toilets are designed to perform as reliably as any large volume toilet, but with less than half the water. North American wide independent testing and rating (highest rating attainable is 1000 and is based on flow rate and waste removal efficiency) is conducted on an annual basis. A maximum performance (MaP) rating of 250 is widely cited as a minimum performance threshold for meeting customer expectation. Toilets with higher MaP scores have better performance. The complete version of the Maximum Performance Testing of Popular Toilet Models, 15th Edition includes testing methodologies. For more information please visit the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association website.   "Mine works beautifully - they perform better than the old toilets and save water." --Sylvia Wells, Toilet Rebate recipient   "We are thrilled with our low flow toilets. They're wonderful. I don't know why we didn't do this before." --Joanne Milner, Toilet Rebate recipient What does "MaP rating" mean (Maximum Performance Rating)? North American wide independent testing and rating (highest rating attainable is 1000 and is based on flow rate and waste removal efficiency) is conducted on an annual basis. A maximum performance (MaP) rating of 250 is widely cited as a minimum performance threshold for meeting customer expectation. Toilets with higher MaP scores have better performance. The complete version of the Maximum Performance Testing of Popular Toilet Models, 15th Edition includes testing methodologies. For more information please visit the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association website.   Retailers will be able to discuss MaP ratings with you. Can I just replace part of my toilet and still be eligible for the rebate? No - rebates are only available if the entire toilet is replaced. Am I still eligible if a plumber supplied and installed the new toilet(s)? Yes - as long as you submit an official contractor's receipt. I am a retailer who wishes to promote the program, how would I do this? We have a retail information package which contains useful information for retailers about promoting this program. To obtain a copy please contact the Environmental Coordinator at 604-533-6082 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . What if I have other questions not covered in this FAQ? For more information, please review the brochure or contact the Environmental Coordinator at 604-533-6082 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .   Rain Barrels - $35 The Township offers residents the water saver rain barrel, which comes in two types: a 190 litre (50 gallons) open top version or a 170 litre (45 gallons) closed top version. The high quality container is a great way to reduce summer demand on your water system while providing non-chlorinated water for your garden. Limit one per household The subsidized cost to Township residents only is $35 payable by cash, cheque, or credit card if purchased at the Civic Facility. The Operations Centre only accepts cash or cheque. To purchase: Call 604.532.7300 For more information, contact the Environmental Coordinator at 604.533.6082 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .   Residential Water Saver Kits  Langley's drinking water (both municipal supply as well as private wells) is largely from local groundwater resources. To encourage conservation of these precious and limited groundwater supplies, the Township of Langley and Environment Canada are subsidizing water-saving kits on a trial basis. Indoor Kit - $10  1 water-efficient showerhead (2.0 GPM) 1 dual setting kitchen faucet aerator (1.5 GPM) 2 dual-thread faucet sink aerators (1.5 GPM) 2 toilet tank banks (for older 13-26L toilets) 1 package of dye tablets to detect toilet leaks 1 small roll Teflon tape Limit 2 per household   Outdoor Kit - $20 1 trigger-release spray nozzle 1 hose timer 1 rain gauge 1 hose repair set 1 instruction card Limit 1 per household   Available at the Township's Civic Facility, Operations Centre, or your local Recreation Center. For more information, contact the Environmental Coordinator at 604.533.6082 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it