Coolin' the Gang

Toronto Cools Itself with Cold Water

Starting this week, near-freezing water from the depths of Lake Ontario will bring relief to heat-stricken residents of Toronto, Ontario. A multi-million-dollar project will pump water from the lake through three intake pipes, where it will be used to cool down other water, which will subsequently be used to cool buildings in downtown Toronto; the original water will continue merrily on its way into the city system, where it will be treated and used as drinking water. It sounds complicated, but according to Dennis Fotinos, the president of Enwave, which is spearheading the project, "Compared to traditional air-conditioning, Deep Lake Water Cooling reduces electricity use by 75 percent and will eliminate 40,000 [metric] tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 8,000 cars off of the streets of Toronto." Enwave claims it has the capacity to cool 100 office buildings or 8,000 homes -- some 32 million square feet of space. Cool!