Municipal Water Use 2009 Summary Tables

Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey 

Methodology

The 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey (MWWS) collected data on municipal water use and pricing for the 2009 calendar year.

Survey Sample

The survey was sent out to all municipalities with a population greater than 1000 and to a sample of those under 1000, except municipalities on Federal Lands and First Nations.

The sample of municipalities with less than 1000 residents increased to 1000 municipalities in the 2009 survey, compared to 630 in 2006 and 616 in 2004 (no municipalities below 1000 population were included in the 2001 or previous samples). In spite of this change, the data is still comparable to previous survey cycles as any effect on the aggregate statistics is negligible due the very small overall population of responding municipalities in this size group.

The 2009 survey sample contained a total of 2779 municipalities, compared to the 2006 sample of 2409 municipalities. Forty municipalities that were included in the 2006 sample were merged into existing or new municipalities or districts in the 2009 sample. An additional 410 municipalities were added to the 2009 sample, including 400 additional municipalities with population below 1000 (as mentioned above), and another 10 municipalities that crossed the 1000 population threshold and were therefore automatically included in the survey sample.

The population estimates used for each municipality are based on Statistics Canada’s population estimates for census subdivisions on July 1, 2009.

Response Rate and Representativeness

The response rate to the survey varies by question; please refer to the “Responding Population” column in each table to find the exact responding population for each statistic.

Initial survey responses were supplemented with call-backs to large municipalities and Internet searches for readily available information. Some missing records were imputed from data collected in 2006, after adjusting for changes in the population in the intervening years. In the 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater summary database, the source of each record (2009 survey or imputed from 2006) is indicated; therefore the non-imputed totals or averages can be obtained, if desired.

In 2009 the survey collected information on one or more key statistics from 1488 municipalities (with a population of 27.0 million). Imputing from 2006 for non-response where possible brought these values up to 1688 municipalities, accounting for 30.0 million Canadians.

The data reported here has been compiled directly from values collected through the 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey (MWWS). No statistical techniques or extrapolation has been used to render the information representative of the entire Canadian population. When interpreting the survey results, the reader should always refer to the responding population, which is indicated for each statistic presented in this report.

Changes since 2006

The Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey underwent significant revisions and modifications since the 2006 survey cycle. Changes made to the survey questionnaire and to the method of data analysis have allowed greater clarity and precision in survey results. However, in some cases these changes have affected the comparability of the 2009 results with previous cycles’ data. Throughout this document we have mentioned the 2006 results for comparison, but have also indicated wherever the results are not directly comparable due to methodology changes. Please refer to the footnotes below each table for more information.

 

Table 1: Residential Water Services, by Province/Territory and Municipal Population

 Number of Responding MunicipalitiesResponding PopulationPopulation Served Water DistributionPercent of the Population that is Served Water DistributionPercent of the Population that is on Private WellsPercent of the Population that is on Water Haulage
Newfoundland & Labrador
55
363,817
343,621
94.4%
5.6%
0.0%
P.E.I.
10
63,805
55,179
86.5%
13.5%
0.0%
Nova Scotia
31
791,167
473,853
59.9%
39.5%
0.6%
New Brunswick
65
409,857
319,245
77.9%
22.1%
0.0%
Quebec
579
6,601,881
5,943,173
90.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Ontario
247
12,297,845
11,023,461
89.6%
10.1%
0.2%
Manitoba
102
1,002,380
888,553
88.6%
10.1%
1.2%
Saskatchewan
192
497,027
452,920
91.1%
7.7%
1.2%
Alberta
183
3,492,769
3,125,871
89.5%
8.6%
1.9%
British Columbia
112
3,308,751
3,018,321
91.2%
7.9%
0.9%
Territories
14
55,391
42,605
76.9%
3.8%
19.3%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Municipal Population
 
 
 
 
 
 
Under 1000
475
253,299
127,178
50.2%
47.3%
2.5%
1001-2000
318
461,438
254,205
55.1%
42.9%
2.0%
2001-5000
302
995,347
660,568
66.4%
32.6%
1.1%
5001-50 000
418
5,922,662
4,269,995
72.1%
26.1%
1.8%
50 001-500 000
67
9,944,049
9,281,803
93.3%
6.5%
0.2%
More than 500 000
10
11,307,895
11,093,052
98.1%
1.8%
0.1%
Total, 2009
1,590
28,884,690
25,686,801
88.9%
10.5%
0.6%
Total, 2006
1,314
28,177,339
25,472,314
90.4%*
 
 
       
Source - 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Aggregated to municipal level and imputed for non-response using 2006 MWWS. Sustainable Water Management Division, Environment Canada.
* The values for 2009 are not directly comparable with the results from 2006 due to a change in the way the data was analyzed. The 2009 results are based on the entire municipal population, while the 2006 results are based only on the population in municipalities that have water distribution systems.

 

Table 2: Population Served Water Treatment, by Province/Territory and Municipal Population

 Number of Responding MunicipalitiesResponding PopulationPopulation Served Water who are also served Water Treatment*Percent of the Population Served Water who are also served WaterTreatment*
Newfoundland & Labrador
40
326,285
312,440
95.8%
P.E.I.
5
52,808
34,425
65.2%
Nova Scotia
19
444,881
444,470
99.9%
New Brunswick
28
271,634
250,900
92.4%
Quebec
257
5,668,043
5,297,295
93.5%
Ontario
175
10,724,518
10,425,513
97.2%
Manitoba
51
852,312
844,314
99.1%
Saskatchewan
87
622,023
613,150
98.6%
Alberta
129
3,051,629
3,031,303
99.3%
British Columbia
93
3,133,362
2,409,903
76.9%
Territories
5
38,848
17,953
46.2%
 
 
 
 
 
Municipal Population
 
 
 
 
Under 1000
166
77,252
58,199
75.3%
1001-2000
129
153,520
117,219
76.4%
2001-5000
167
434,582
346,770
79.8%
5001-50 000
349
3,905,503
3,387,448
86.7%
50 001-500 000
68
9,372,254
8,575,349
91.5%
More than 500 000
10
11,243,231
11,196,680
99.6%
Total, 2009
889
25,186,342
23,681,666
94.0%
Total, 2006
1204
25,468,746
24,399,059
95.8%
     
Source - 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Aggregated to municipal level and imputed for non-response using 2006 MWWS. Sustainable Water Management Division, Environment Canada.
* While in many respects the population served water treatment can be considered as a subset of the population served water, differences in response rate and imputing mean that the two statistics are not calculated on the exact same population base. 

 

Table 3: Total and Residential Per Capita Water Use, by Province/Territory and Municipal Population*

 

Total Water Use

Residential Water Use

 Number of Responding MunicipalitiesResponding PopulationTotal Water Use per Capita (litres/capita/day)Number of Responding MunicipalitiesResponding PopulationResidential* Water Use per Capita (litres/capita/day)
Newfoundland & Labrador
24
278,549
804
22
189,235
395
P.E.I.
4
52,582
505
4
52,582
189
Nova Scotia
18
436,981
512
17
436,120
292
New Brunswick
30
267,352
821
27
263,986
394
Quebec
272
5,465,132
706
225
4,393,874
386
Ontario
165
10,470,997
409
159
10,401,245
225
Manitoba
54
847,025
355
49
842,461
199
Saskatchewan
80
609,177
518
75
607,131
238
Alberta
124
2,837,712
395
115
2,756,461
209
British Columbia
87
2,766,835
606
86
2,764,564
353
Territories
6
39,448
599
6
39,448
391
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Municipal Population
 
 
 
 
 
 
Under 1000
154
74,099
756
136
65,249
426
1001-2000
142
159,338
528
120
135,276
371
2001-5000
172
446,134
712
157
410,304
385
5001-50 000
322
3,586,411
570
302
3,384,172
313
50 001-500 000
64
8,747,123
489
60
7,816,692
280
More than 500 000
10
11,058,686
497
10
10,935,416
251
Total, 2009
864
24,071,791
510
785
22,747,109
274
Total, 2006
1,082
25,183,363
591**
1,043
25,074,414
327**
       
Source - 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Aggregated to municipal level and imputed for non-response using 2006 MWWS. Sustainable Water Management Division, Environment Canada.
* Includes single-family and multi-family
** The drop in water use per capita from 2006 to 2009 was sharper than between previous survey cycles. This drop may have been caused by a wide variety of factors, including climatic variables, socioeconomic variables, higher rates of metering and increased water and sewer prices, among others. Changes in the survey sample can also have a limited impact on the survey results. For total water use per capita, 75% of the data set (by population) was composed of municipalities which responded in both 2006 and 2009, while for residential water use per capita, 62% of the data set (by population) was composed of municipalities which responded in both 2006 and 2009.

 

Table 4: Residential and Commercial Metering Rates, by Province/Territory and Municipal Population

 
Residential Metering
Commercial Metering
 Number of Responding MunicipalitiesResponding PopulationPopulation Served Residential*MeteringPercent Population Served Residential*MeteringNumber of Responding MunicipalitiesResponding PopulationPopulation Served Commercial** MeteringPercent Population Served Commercial** Metering
Newfoundland & Labrador
42
319,165
63
0.0%
37
318,063
202,260
63.6%
P.E.I.
5
52,808
325
0.6%
4
52,582
49,840
94.8%
Nova Scotia
20
445,872
438,570
98.4%
19
444,306
433,882
97.7%
New Brunswick
36
286,153
158,610
55.4%
32
282,864
237,294
83.9%
Quebec
289
3,544,243
489,095
13.8%
259
3,260,285
1,500,358
46.0%
Ontario
176
10,717,943
10,127,822
94.5%
167
10,225,614
9,951,249
97.3%
Manitoba
55
859,653
836,919
97.4%
51
847,834
821,035
96.8%
Saskatchewan
92
628,123
621,506
98.9%
82
626,101
614,518
98.2%
Alberta
133
3,085,420
2,689,875
87.2%
128
3,072,241
2,813,244
91.6%
British Columbia
95
3,089,668
1,241,733
40.2%
94
3,109,185
2,669,382
85.9%
Territories
5
38,690
17,113
44.2%
5
38,690
37,103
95.9%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Municipal Population
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Under 1000
184
86,187
42,397
49.2%
153
76,946
36,705
47.7%
1001-2000
155
177,642
85,514
48.1%
144
166,971
80,133
48.0%
2001-5000
183
474,388
240,665
50.7%
173
455,084
244,526
53.7%
5001-50 000
349
3,860,959
2,115,522
54.8%
333
3,746,163
2,707,501
72.3%
50 001-500 000
67
9,089,047
5,842,735
64.3%
65
8,322,090
7,109,425
85.4%
More than 500 000
10
9,379,514
8,294,798
88.4%
10
9,510,512
9,151,875
96.2%
Total, 2009
948
23,067,738
16,621,631
72.1%
878
22,277,765
19,330,165
86.8%
Total, 2006
1,199
25,523,258
16,105,176
63.1%
807
21,973,040
17,600,405
80.1%
         
Source - 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Aggregated to municipal level and imputed for non-response using 2006 MWWS. Sustainable Water Management Division, Environment Canada.
* Includes only single-family residential
** Small office/store only (max 1'' or 25mm connection)

 

Table 5: Municipal Water Use by Sector (as a Percentage of Total Water Delivered to the Distribution Systems), by Province/Territory and Municipal Population

 Number of Responding MunicipalitiesResponding PopulationPercent Residential Water Use*Percent Commerical / Institutional / Municipal Water Use*Percent Industrial / Agricultural Water Use*Percent Leaks / Unaccounted Water Use*
Newfoundland & Labrador
29
204,324
68.2%
13.9%
10.4%
7.5%
P.E.I.
4
52,582
40.0%
33.6%
13.8%
12.6%
Nova Scotia
19
437,291
58.2%
15.1%
7.2%
19.5%
New Brunswick
33
216,896
56.4%
23.3%
10.8%
9.6%
Quebec
248
4,498,065
52.7%
14.0%
11.2%
22.1%
Ontario
166
9,444,735
58.8%
20.2%
10.4%
10.6%
Manitoba
51
844,428
57.8%
18.6%
9.1%
14.5%
Saskatchewan
90
594,688
43.2%
30.7%
13.1%
12.9%
Alberta
125
2,712,552
57.1%
20.9%
11.9%
10.1%
British Columbia
90
2,939,748
62.5%
16.8%
9.3%
11.4%
Territories
5
38,690
60.1%
26.1%
5.0%
8.9%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Municipal Population
 
 
 
 
 
 
Under 1000
156
73,309
68.0%
18.5%
5.9%
7.6%
1001-2000
147
164,845
70.9%
13.8%
7.2%
8.1%
2001-5000
167
413,881
65.4%
15.3%
11.2%
8.2%
5001-50 000
318
3,506,009
58.2%
17.4%
12.1%
12.3%
50 001-500 000
62
7,979,774
58.1%
19.5%
10.2%
12.2%
More than 500 000
10
9,846,181
56.0%
18.7%
10.4%
14.9%
Total, 2009
860
21,983,999
57.4%
18.7%
10.6%
13.3%
Total, 2006
1,009
24,021,196
57.0%
19.3%
11.5%
12.8%
       
Source - 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Aggregated to municipal level and imputed for non-response using 2006 MWWS. Sustainable Water Management Division, Environment Canada.
* For properties connected to a municipal water system only. Does not include self-serviced residences, businesses or industries.

 

Table 6: Sources of Municipal Drinking Water, by Province/Territory and Municipal Population

 Number of Responding MunicipalitiesResponding PopulationPercent Municipal Water from Surface Water (weighted by population served)*Percent Municipal Water from Ground Water (weighted by population served)*
Newfoundland & Labrador
23
280,767
95.1%
4.9%
P.E.I.
4
52,582
0.0%
100.0%
Nova Scotia
15
428,755
93.9%
6.1%
New Brunswick
27
269,528
66.7%
33.3%
Quebec
209
4,875,547
92.1%
7.9%
Ontario
145
9,689,043
88.9%
11.1%
Manitoba
45
835,647
95.5%
4.5%
Saskatchewan
72
554,458
89.8%
10.2%
Alberta
112
1,580,379
96.2%
3.8%
British Columbia
75
2,628,584
90.2%
9.8%
Territories
5
23,553
30.0%
70.0%
 
 
 
 
 
Municipal Population
 
 
 
 
Under 1000
132
65,398
49.3%
50.7%
1001-2000
111
124,382
56.0%
44.0%
2001-5000
148
360,459
56.4%
43.6%
5001-50 000
275
3,036,022
76.6%
23.4%
50 001-500 000
57
7,639,352
85.9%
14.1%
More than 500 000
9
9,993,231
99.6%
0.4%
Total, 2009
732
21,218,843
90.2%
9.8%
Total, 2006
1,058
23,700,369
88.5%
11.5%
 
 
 
 
 
Source - 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Aggregated to municipal level and imputed for non-response using 2006 MWWS. Sustainable Water Management Division, Environment Canada.
* Only includes water distributed by municipal water systems. Does not include self-serviced residences, businesses or industries.

 

Table 7: Residential Sewage Disposal, by Province/Territory and Municipal Population

 Number of Responding MunicipalitiesResponding PopulationPopulation Served SewersPercent of the Population that is Served SewersPercent of the Population that is on Private Septic SystemsPercent of the Population that is on Sewage Haulage (Holding Tanks)
Newfoundland & Labrador
50
348,836
321,997
92.3%
7.7%
0.0%
P.E.I.
10
63,805
58,757
92.1%
7.9%
0.0%
Nova Scotia
31
791,001
535,846
67.7%
32.2%
0.1%
New Brunswick
63
402,541
351,319
87.3%
12.1%
0.6%
Quebec
542
6,182,520
5,385,542
87.1%
12.8%
0.1%
Ontario
241
11,948,830
10,457,340
87.5%
12.2%
0.2%
Manitoba
95
988,766
876,176
88.6%
9.2%
2.2%
Saskatchewan
187
696,621
642,644
92.3%
6.6%
1.1%
Alberta
180
3,481,798
3,104,981
89.2%
9.6%
1.2%
British Columbia
111
3,162,751
2,721,350
86.0%
13.4%
0.6%
Territories
14
55,391
42,322
76.4%
8.3%
15.3%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Municipal Population
 
 
 
 
 
 
Under 1000
453
241,181
113,995
47.3%
48.8%
3.9%
1001-2000
296
430,794
230,173
53.4%
44.1%
2.5%
2001-5000
292
971,417
598,607
61.6%
36.5%
1.8%
5001-50 000
408
5,785,533
3,916,092
67.7%
31.2%
1.1%
50 001-500 000
65
9,560,467
8,730,643
91.3%
8.4%
0.3%
More than 500 000
10
11,133,468
10,908,761
98.0%
2.0%
0.0%
Total, 2009
1,524
28,122,860
24,498,272
87.1%
12.4%
0.5%
Total, 2006
1,314
28,177,339
24,880,590
88.3%*
 
 
       
Source - 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Aggregated to municipal level and imputed for non-response using 2006 MWWS. Sustainable Water Management Division, Environment Canada.
* The values for 2009 are not directly comparable with the results from 2006 due to a change in the way the data was analyzed. The 2009 results are based on the entire municipal population, while the 2006 results are based only on the population in municipalities that have sewer systems.

 

Table 8: Wastewater Treatment Categories, by Province/Territory and Municipal Population

 Number of Responding Municip-alitiesResponding PopulationNo Sewage Treatment or Preliminary OnlyServed Sewage Treatment (beyond Preliminary)PrimarySecondary-WSP*Secondary-MechanicalTertiary**Secondary Treatment or Better***
Newfoundland & Labrador
44
300,742
49.3%
50.7%
42.8%
1.6%
5.3%
1.0%
7.9%
P.E.I.
11
57,597
0.0%
100.0%
0.0%
13.2%
63.2%
23.6%
100.0%
Nova Scotia
26
517,756
12.6%
87.4%
56.5%
5.8%
21.7%
3.4%
31.0%
New Brunswick
54
299,634
13.7%
86.3%
31.4%
18.1%
36.1%
0.8%
54.9%
Quebec
438
5,291,172
0.9%
99.1%
48.1%
13.5%
29.5%
8.0%
51.0%
Ontario
223
9,696,614
0.0%
100.0%
2.2%
1.5%
87.9%
8.4%
97.8%
Manitoba
86
845,503
0.2%
99.8%
1.7%
7.8%
87.7%
2.5%
98.1%
Saskatchewan
127
413,979
2.1%
97.9%
4.9%
16.8%
18.0%
58.2%
93.0%
Alberta
169
2,999,418
1.5%
98.5%
0.7%
5.0%
14.8%
77.9%
97.8%
British Columbia
105
3,153,779
11.7%
88.3%
30.1%
11.0%
39.8%
7.4%
58.1%
Territories
10
42,286
56.3%
43.7%
3.2%
40.6%
0.0%
0.0%
40.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Municipal Population
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Under 1000
323
92,655
15.8%
84.2%
9.7%
64.0%
7.9%
2.6%
74.6%
1001-2000
248
175,607
9.2%
90.8%
14.1%
56.6%
16.9%
3.1%
76.7%
2001-5000
256
473,679
8.4%
91.6%
7.0%
58.9%
18.9%
6.8%
84.6%
5001-50 000
387
3,465,010
4.3%
95.7%
11.8%
21.9%
37.2%
24.9%
83.9%
50 001-500 000
69
8,386,829
6.2%
93.8%
15.6%
4.7%
60.1%
13.4%
78.2%
More than 500 000
10
11,024,701
0.2%
99.8%
22.6%
0.1%
58.2%
18.9%
77.2%
Total, 2009
1,293
23,618,481
3.2%
96.8%
18.1%
6.8%
54.5%
17.4%**
78.7%
Total, 2006
1,314
28,177,339
3.2%
97.8%
17.5%
6.2%
42.4%
30.8%**
79.4%
          
Source - 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Aggregated to municipal level and imputed for non-response using 2006 MWWS. Sustainable Water Management Division, Environment Canada.
* Waste Stabilization Ponds (lagoons)
** In 2006 this was "advanced or tertiary", while in 2009 its tertiary-only. In 2006 Environment Canada determined the treatment level from a list of processes reported by the municipality. In 2009 the treatment level was self-declared by the municipality. The definition of each level of wastewater treatment that was used in the survey questionnaire can be found in the Glossary.
*** Includes populations served by WSPs, secondary mechanical or tertiary treatment

 

Appendix - A - Differences in survey sample 2004, 2006 and 2009

 

2004 MWWS

2006 MWWS

2009 MWWS

  
 Number of Munic-ipalities in Sample*Total Pop-ulation of Municipalities in Sample*Number of Munici-palities in Sample*Total Pop-ulation of Municipalities in Sample*Number of Munic-ipalities in Sample*Total Pop-ulation of Municipalities in Sample*Total Number of Munici-palities in Canada - 2009**Total Canadian Population - 2009**
Newfoundland & Labrador
144
450,663
143
445,433
174
460,007
377
508,925
P.E.I.
23
129,590
23
128,095
25
134,597
113
140,985
Nova Scotia
51
925,231
51
902,191
54
929,408
100
938,183
New Brunswick
194
707,755
194
687,163
203
712,443
276
749,468
Quebec
779
7,304,699
796
7,316,522
914
7,667,546
1,294
7,828,879
Ontario
325
12,296,901
322
12,078,574
360
12,996,811
585
13,069,182
Manitoba
144
1,070,014
142
1,052,341
157
1,130,663
297
1,221,964
Saskatchewan
304
783,073
301
760,939
404
843,793
984
1,030,129
Alberta
237
3,117,336
236
3,218,914
284
3,628,591
453
3,687,662
British Columbia
161
4,112,988
160
4,023,072
162
4,375,012
836
4,455,207
Yukon
10
27,195
10
26,612
8
29,714
35
33,653
N.W.T.
14
35,794
14
35,154
15
38,305
37
43,439
Nunavut
16
22,504
17
23,648
19
28,027
31
32,183
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Municipal Population
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Under 1000
616
283,029
630
298,428
1,000
486,798
3,317
1,122,682
1000 - 2000
618
882,784
612
863,205
611
863,423
748
1,060,614
2000 - 5000
528
1,659,695
519
1,620,416
524
1,632,831
639
1,997,973
5000 - 50 000
553
7,345,659
562
7,561,079
554
7,439,417
616
8,001,061
50 000 – 500 000
76
9,826,585
76
10,264,220
78
10,861,029
88
11,275,234
More than 500 000**
11
10,985,991
10
10,091,310
11
11,691,419
10
10,282,295
Canada Total
2,402
30,983,743
2,409
30,698,658
2,778
32,974,917
5,418
33,739,859
         
Source - 2009 Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Aggregated to municipal level and imputed for non-response using 2006 MWWS. Sustainable Water Management Division, Environment Canada.
* This is not the number and population of municipalities that responded to the survey; for responding population, please see "Responding population" column associated with each statistic.
** In the over 500,000 population size group, the number and population of municipalities in the MWWS sample is higher than the total for Canada population because the MWWS grouped together certain municipalities into regions to facilitate survey response.

Glossary

Imputation - The process of estimating a missing value that a survey respondent failed to provide. The estimate can be imputed from the subject's responses to similar surveys in previous years, for example, or calculated using various statistical methods.

Municipality - A municipal-level jurisdiction (in an organizational sense and a spatial sense) as defined by Statistics Canada's Census Subdivisions. For the purpose of the Municipal Water Use and Pricing survey, municipalities may be grouped in some cases.

Municipal Water Use Database - The municipally aggregated database created from municipal water use survey results, using imputed values where necessary.

Population served - The portion of the responding population receiving a particular water-related municipal service (i.e., water distribution, water treatment, wastewater collection or wastewater treatment, depending on the question).

Proxy - A statistical variable that is similar enough to another to be used as a substitute for it, usually because it can be more readily measured than the original.

Responding municipality - A municipality for which there was a response to a given question in the 2009 survey. A municipality that fails to respond to a particular survey question can still be considered a responding municipality if its response can be imputed from other available information (see “Imputation” above).

Responding population - The number of people for which the responding municipality (see “Responding municipality” above) provided a response to a given survey question. For example, if a municipality provided the percent of households metered for a water system serving 20 000 people and another water system serving 5000 people, the total responding population for residential water metering for that municipality is 25 000 people.

Wastewater Treatment Levels – Classifications of wastewater treatment types to simplify comparison of the many types of wastewater treatment technologies used, specifically:

None/Preliminary: the wastewater receives no treatment or preliminary treatment only (Preliminary treatment removes relatively large solids from wastewater. Some common techniques include grit removal, screening, bar racks and skimming

Primary: A treatment process that allows the undissolved solids in raw sewage to settle out of suspension forming sludge. Some common techniques include primary sedimentation/clarification, plate/tube settlers and/or chemical precipitation/flocculation.

Secondary-WSP (Waste Stabilization Pond):  Treatment for the removal of most of the organic matter or to achieve significant biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids reductions. Some common techniques include: aerated, aerobic, facultative, storage ponds and anaerobic

Secondary-Mechanical:  Treatment for the removal of most of the organic matter or to achieve significant biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids reductions. Some common techniques include: conventional activated sludge, extended aeration activated sludge, pure oxygen activated sludge, other activated sludge, oxidation ditch, trickling filter, rotating biological contactor (RBC), and sequencing batch reactor (SBR).

Tertiary: Enhanced treatment to remove constituents, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, which may not be satisfactorily reduced through conventional secondary treatment. Some common techniques include: polishing ponds, ammonia stripping or air stripping, biological nutrient removal nitrogen & phosphorus, biological ammonia removal - nitrification only (NH3 -> NO3), biological nitrogen removal - nitrification and denitrification (NH3 -> N2), biological phosphorus removal, chemical precipitation (phosphorus) and filtration