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Water cooling sends a chill

Restaurant association concerned by proposed water conservation bylaw

Local restaurant owners have banded together, concerned that a bylaw circulating within municipal hall will have a negative impact on their businesses.

The proposed legislation seeks to save water by limiting businesses to certain types of refrigerators, air conditioners and ice making machines. But restaurateurs say more research needs to be done before such ruling is passed.

“It is not like we are fighting this bylaw, but nobody has information yet,” said Sheila MacLean, information officer for the newly formed Whistler Restaurant Association.

“There really has not been any preparation on the research… Nobody contacted the restaurants, so no restaurants gave any figures about how much water they use.”

MacLean said several factors need to be considered before such a bylaw is passed, including research into how energy efficient the equipment will be, what space requirements are needed, and what the bylaw could cost businesses.

“We all like to be conscious with regards to the environment… but we need to make sure everybody is properly educated on the best route to take,” said MacLean.

The restaurant association wrote a letter, signed by Chris Quinlan of Behind the Grind, to municipal hall two weeks ago highlighting their concerns.

The proposed bylaw was scheduled to go to council March 17, but was pulled from the agenda at the last minute when Ted Battiston, manager of sustainable initiatives for the municipality, heard the association’s concerns.

“Their comments were not supportive from what they understood of the bylaw at that point,” said Battiston.

“I want to finish that conversation with them. I want to say, ‘Here are the things in your comments that I think are overstated. Here are the things we could potentially bend on. Here is how the bylaw is more accommodating to your situation then I think you realize’.”

He added the bylaw should still come before council sometime soon, though no date has been set.

The bylaw aims to conserve drinking water in Whistler by switching all cooling machines — like refrigerators, air conditioners and ice machines — from water-based to air-based.

Most businesses in town currently have water-cooled equipment. These machines use drinkable water to cool refrigeration condenser coils. The used water is then sent down the drain.

Battiston estimates that as much as 600 million litres of water is used a year to cool these machines, or 14 per cent of Whistler’s drinkable water. This number is equivalent to emptying the pool at Meadow Park Sports Centre 1,700 times.

“From a water conservation perspective, this is potentially a pretty big piece of what is going on,” he said.

“It (the bylaw) was also called for in our long term water strategy, so that is why we are going forward with it.”

Battiston said other communities have prevented wasting water this way by either charging people for the amount of water they use, or banning water-cooling machines altogether.

Based on his research, Battiston has found that air-cooling machines are just as efficient as water-cooling machines; and heat generated by air-cooling machines does not have a significant energy impact.

He added that the bylaw would only require businesses to change over to air-cooling devices when it comes time for them to replace their old equipment. Also, the bylaw provides exemptions if the cost to replace the machines is unduly expensive.

“That is built right into the bylaw,” said Battiston.

“That is an approach that should work well with the business community, and I would like to have the opportunity to continue to talk to the restaurant association about that.”

The Whistler Restaurant Association was formed in December to give local restaurateurs a unified voice. According to MacLean, 25 people attended the last meeting, and the group hopes to appoint officers soon.

“It is just in the beginning stages, so all the restaurants are on the same page and everyone is using the same language with regard to issues that affect restaurants,” explained McLean.

“If this bylaw was passed and nobody knew about it, then all of a sudden the restaurants are faced with an added expenditure without really knowing it.”

Not all food and beverage owners in town are concerned about the proposed water conservation bylaw.

Joey Gibbons, owner of four bars in town, said from what he has heard, it sounds like a positive direction.

“From my perspective, I am all for creating a better system, and from what I understand, it is not like they are going to come in here and say everybody with a water cooled refrigeration (system) has to be out with the old and in with the new,” he said.

“What they are saying is when you change, let’s just put in this new system that is more efficient and cheaper.”

He added that the bylaw has not yet been discussed by nightclub owners at their monthly meetings.

“Once this comes forward (to council), we’ll probably get an e-mail about it, and then we’ll discuss it among the group and get back to them about it,” said Gibbons.

“But if anything is coming out that is safer and cheaper, we are pretty sure we are all going to jump on board.”

Other communities that have enacted similar restrictions include Calgary and Cochrane in Alberta and Waterloo, Cambridge and Kitchener in Ontario.

If passed, this bylaw would be the third water conservation bylaw enacted by the municipality. The other two bylaws regulate lawn sprinkling and garden hose use and the installation of plumbing fixtures.