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Ontarians may finally dust the cobwebs off their sprinklers and garden hoses this week with temperatures returning to the mid-20s and sunny skies forecast through Friday.
But the record-breaking rainfall to date has led to an "amazing" drop in water consumption in Toronto and other communities, squeezing municipal revenues, even raising the prospect of rate increases for some.
Toronto's daily water use has dropped this summer by as much as 300 million litres - enough to fill the Rogers Centre each day. Consumption in York and Durham regions fell 20 per cent in June alone, with total summer consumption down about 10 per cent over last year.
While conservation played a role, most of the reduction is due to the glut of rain and its impact on lawn watering, officials said.
Detonia Park Golf Course on Victoria Park Ave. in Toronto is often called the city's hidden gem. With the summer's record rain, groundskeepers are using much less water to maintain it. (Sami Siva/The Globe and Mail)
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"This is the first summer that I can remember in the last six years, at least, that we haven't had to request people to conserve," said Patrick Newland, Toronto's director of water treatment and supply.
"Not to say that I don't encourage it still," he said. "But this just goes to show you the impact. It's amazing ... it's huge."
So huge, in fact, that the city's water revenues have fallen by as much as 3 per cent over the past three months, a potential headache for city managers grappling with a $1-billion backlog of repairs to aged water mains and sewers.
Toronto taxpayers, hit with a 9.36-per-cent hike in the water rate this year and planned annual increases of 9 per cent through 2012, could feel more pain if wet conditions persist through to the end of the year.
"Not as much income is coming in to support the infrastructure, which will in turn either reduce our reserve capacity or else we'll have to slow down our capital improvement, or on the other side, increase water rates to subsidize it," Mr. Newland said.
Total summer rainfall recorded at Pearson Airport stood yesterday at 388 millimetres, far exceeding the 335 mm that once made the summer of 1986 the wettest on record. Average June-to-August accumulation at Pearson is 228.2 mm.
"We've used absolutely no water to speak of," said Bill Falkiner, supervisor of Toronto's five municipal golf courses. "We've probably used more in the club houses than we used on the courses."
Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson said the story is the same across Ontario. Summer rainfall in any given part of the province usually ranges from 240 to 280 mms, but many locations have easily topped the 300 mark, including Geraldton at 348, North Bay at 367, Red Lake at 336, and Peterborough at 344.
Peel Region has seen its summer water consumption fall by 6 per cent, and it projects a 2-per-cent shortfall in revenues worth about $4-million at year end. Johann Manente, point person for the region, said there are reserves for such cyclical impacts. While municipalities generally experience some energy savings because of lower pump and treatment costs, it's too early to say how significant they'll be, she said.
Brett Bloxam, director of operations and maintenance for York Region's Environmental Services, said the municipality used 2.6 million fewer cubic metres of water in the past three months, but he's not concerned about the bottom line.
"Our revenues are based on flows. But we have a contingency plan built into our budget," he said. "We may have to make adjustments in future budgets based on our 2008 flows, but as far as having the operating money there, we're not anticipating any issues."
Overcast skies and mild temperatures have also helped reduce electricity demand in Ontario by about 1 per cent in 2008, enough power to run a city the size of Peterborough for a year, the Independent Electricity System Operator reports.
There have been only four hours this summer when provincial demand exceeded 24,000 megawatts, compared to 62 hours last summer.
Hydroelectric production is also at record levels because of the rain.
