Quick, Clean and Green: Smart Spending Needed on Sustainable Water Structure
Federal government commits $4 billion to infrastructure spending
According to the three authors of a commentary released in February 2009, there is a risk that in the rush to get shovels in the ground, unwise investments will leave behind undesirable legacies of unnecessary infrastructure—damaging the environment and saddling Canadians with new debt.
“Smart spending on sustainable water infrastructure can create thousands of green jobs, reduce our $31-billion water infrastructure deficit and conserve Canada’s water. These investments can be deployed quickly with lasting economic and environmental benefits,” state Glen Pleasance, Oliver M Brandes and Jim Bruce.
To read the entire commentary, click on Smart Spending Needed on Sustainable Water Infrastructure.
About the Authors:
Glen Pleasance is past chair of the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association’s Water Efficiency Committee and treasurer of the Alliance for Water Efficiency. Oliver M. Brandes is the associate director and water sustainability project leader at UVic’s POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. Jim Bruce is co-chair of the Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW) and chair of the Expert Panel on Groundwater of Council of Canadian Academies.
Posted April 2009