Practical Water Solutions

A body can survive up to three weeks without food..but only for a few days without water.

The ICAN Practical Water Solutions Team is very focused on educating our ‘water rich community’ to think about and prepare for the inevitable change to that classification. We are a micro society almost entirely dependent on an aquifer under siege by a climate crises of unprecedented extremes. Drought and what it does to our aquifer recharge rate is driving a shift to Rainwater Harvesting and Storage techniques as a way to augment our non-potable water needs. Many other places in the world without aquifers have systems in place that can show us the way.

IBC Tank Program

Over one hundred 1000 Lt. food grade IBC tanks have been picked up by Quadra and Outer Island community members for Rainwater Harvesting in just 2023 alone. The IBC tank program, now in it’s fourth year, will continue to make ‘at cost’ equipment available to people on a continuous basis as it is an affordable way to initiate systems for gardening and wildfire control.

The team is seeking grants and donations as there are many people on the island who lack the strength or funds to set up a system for their water needs and would make good use of affordable labour.

The next step in the Big Picture is to have large storage tanks installed to hold the IBC tank’s overflow. Such a system will be on display in 2024 with options for pumping and distribution available for discussion and use, thanks to support from Quadra Builders.

Stay Tuned!  Workshop events will be planned and posted.

Do you want a tank?

Contact kwequestrian@gmail.com.

Prices vary as our costs change, but we do our best to keep them as low as possible.

Quadra Elementary School Wetland Project

The Practical Water Solutions team is proud to have been a part of the Quadra Elementary School Wetland Project from it’s beginning. We have been able to help with some of the construction, mostly in setting posts and fencing the planted areas. Thanks to many community members we were able to help nurse the newly planted areas through the dry fall of 2022 and to be part of a 2023 planting of more riparian vegetation. One of the IBC tanks is kept at the wetland to supply water through the dry season.

The Practical Water Solutions Team is interested in water quality on the island and will be conducting water quality tests, including for the School Wetland Project.