Rainwater proposed to flush Ex toilets

Plans to spend nearly $1-million on a "demonstration rainwater harvesting system" at Exhibition Place are a waste of money, critics say, but city officials argue the move will yield long-term environmental benefits.

With little debate, the city's works committee recommended yesterday that council approve the plans, which would see rainwater collected at the Automotive Building and then used to flush toilets in its eight washrooms, as part of a pilot project to showcase new technology to make buildings more efficient.

Toronto Water would put up $600,000 in its capital budget for the project, while city-owned Exhibition Place would pick up the rest of the bill, expected to be a total of up to $935,000, as part of the Automotive Building's renovations.

The works committee chairman, Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, an ally of Mayor David Miller, said the project would inspire others in the city to install similar systems, reducing the amount of cleaned and filtered drinking water wasted on flushing toilets.

"It's a great technology that we want to demonstrate to the world," Mr. De Baeremaeker (Scarborough Centre) said yesterday, arguing that widespread adoption of the technology would conserve water, save energy and spare the city millions of dollars by delaying the need for new water-filtration plants.

More from The Globe and Mail