Water Recycling

Calgary Transit continues to work in reducing the impact on water quality and consumption through a combination of investing in water recycling technologies and implanting water conservation procedures in our operations.

Water Conservation

Reducing water consumption is one of the City of Calgary’s corporate priorities. Calgary Transit has been tracking the overall consumption in our facilities and as well as the amount of water used to wash the bus and CTrain fleet. A significant percent of the water used in our facilities is from washing the vehicle fleet (30 to 50%).

2010 Total Water Consumption

The Oliver Bowen Maintenance Facility (OBMF) is one of Calgary Transit’s newest building designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM) Silver certification.

A unique part of the design for OBMF was to have the surface of the roof capture rainwater and store it into an in ground water tank or a cistern. A water cistern is used to store the rainwater which can then be use to water outdoor plants and trees during summer months. This system and other water conservation programs, such as using timers to water at night to reduce evaporation, saves water and makes environmental sense.