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The world runs on water. Yet the world’s water systems face formidable threats. More than a billion people currently live in water-scarce regions, and as many as 3.5 billion could experience water scarcity by 2025. The Water Risk Atlas is a scale of “water stress” — how close a country comes to draining its annual water stores in a typical year. In areas of high or extremely high water stress, said Betsy Otto, “if you then hit a drought … you’re really in trouble, because you’re already using most of what you have.”

FLASHBACK TO 2015: “The water supply issue and concern in a nutshell can be summarized in four points: Southwest BC dodged a bullet this past summer; there have been past crises; there is a repeating pattern; and increasing water supply storage is problematic,” summarized Kim Stephens in a series of year-end interviews following the drought of 2015. “The clock is ticking. Communities need to leverage this teachable year and seize opportunities to change how the water resource is viewed and managed.”

“Vancouver Island Health Authority has mandated that a filtration system, at a cost of $5M, be placed on our water supply. As a group we continue to pursue an equitable solution for all mandated filtration systems, be they small or large. Some systems have received grants but others are left without any financial assistance. Being a very small community of approximately 850 parcels, another $5M is beyond us with our current commitment of $4.5M/15 year towards our aging distribution infrastructure,” stated Lynne Smith.

“The lessons learned by Basin communities are relevant to any community trying to reduce peak demand driven by irrigation. To measurably reduce irrigation demand through residential water conservation outreach, you need a strong tool kit that includes good data and great personalities who are meeting people right at their homes and places of work,” said Neal Klassen.

“Water use reporting is more than simply meeting regulations. The more often we report, the more accurate our data is, and the more responsive we can be to shortages. The vision of the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) is to have a fully-integrated water system, meeting the needs of residents and agriculture while supporting wildlife and natural areas,” states Anna Warwick Sears

“In just two years of program implementation, 23 Water Smart communities have reduced community water demand by an average of 12 per cent, with some achieving savings of more than 30 per cent. How? By focusing their conservation activities where the potential savings are biggest: reducing leakage in the distribution system,” reports Meredith Hamstead.

For many years, Australia and Europe have faced serious problems with the management and governance of their water resources. These challenges offer a glimpse into Canada’s water future.

Craig Orr (120p) – Executive Director
Watershed Watch Salmon Society
The needs of salmon for water were given a much higher priority than most other consumptive uses of water, especially diverting of rivers for power.

“Water users are not even coming close to covering the full costs of the water services they enjoy. A solution is to begin charging individuals and businesses what water really is worth, based on the volume they use,” states Kirk Stinchcombe.

Oliver Brandes
Since 2000 the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria has filled a unique niche on campus as a place where academic and policy research meets community action. The Water Sustainability Project began at POLIS in 2003. It focuses on reorienting Canadian water management from a supply development approach toward stewardship and managing demand as priorities for governments and decision makers.