clean water

We are in the midst of the “Water for Life” International Decade for Action (2005 – 2015), as declared by the UN, with the goal of halving the estimated 1 billion people worldwide who do not have access to safe, clean drinking water. A combination of increasing human population, pollution, consumption, and climate change are putting a strain on this vital and precious resource.

In British Columbia, it's easy to take for granted the abundance of clean water. Unlike water-poor areas of the world in which a person may need to walk several kilometres to fetch water and consumption may be as little as 5 litres/day, access in B.C. is as simple as turning a faucet, and the average amount consumed per person each day is 490 litres – even greater than the Canadian national average rate of 340 litres/day, the second highest national rate worldwide, only slightly less than that of the U.S.A.


The Issues

Scarcity

The amount of water on Earth is finite and incapable of supplying an increasing population coupled with increasing consumption rates. While B.C. has a seemingly ample supply, the strain of overuse combined with pressure to export water to areas prone to drought – desert areas of the USA, for example – are rendering this supply unsustainable.

Contamination

Water is only of use to us if it is clean. A single drop of oil can render 25 litres of water undrinkable, insufficiently sanitized water can carry deadly bacteria, pesticides are finding their way into the water supply in increasing concentrations; in short, a plethora of processes, both natural and man-made, can compromise our supply of clean water.


Climate Change

The cycling of water between the land, ocean, and atmosphere (the hydrologic cycle) is very complex, making it difficult to predict what will result from a change in temperature, precipitation patterns, and snowmelt. It is expected, however, that drought will increase in certain areas, while flooding will increase in others, and the issue of both quality and quantity of our water supply will be further strained.


What We Can Do

There are many ways in our daily lives that each of us can help to move toward a more sustainable water supply, ranging from complex to simple, from installing more efficient appliances and fixtures in our homes, to simply turning off the faucet while brushing our teeth. On a larger scale, we can help by pushing for more strict water regulatory measures, such as water metering.


The most important step is keeping informed – and spreading the word – about the issues surrounding our water supply, both locally and globally.

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