Category:

The institutions that have guided development of Canada’s water resources have been varied and have evolved in response to different and changing human and biophysical circumstances. Canadians have sought ways to promote development through providing additional storage of water, reducing variability of river flows, and redirecting and utilizing groundwater flows. Only recently have there been concerted efforts to reduce the demand for water. Harnessing water resources has often led to unintended impacts and problems, some of which are described in earlier chapters. Since water is connected through the hydrologic cycle, it is sometimes difficult to manage one water use without significantly affecting another. Many water resource problems can be termed “wicked” or “meta-problems” because they extend beyond the scope of a single government agency and level of government, and are associated with high levels of change, complexity, uncertainty and conflict (Mitchell, 2002). Differences of opinion over the goals to be achieved, and uncertainty and disagreement about the means to solve meta-problems are common. Problems can be chronic or acute, and may be bound or framed in technical, economic, legal, political and social ways. Proposed solutions will be multifaceted; hence information concerning human use and biophysical aspects of water and related resources will be required if decision making is to be adequately informed.

Urban development interferes with water resources by altering the hydrological cycle and increasing demands on provision of water services in the affected areas. Changes in the hydrological cycle include altered fluxes of water, sediment, chemicals and microorganisms, and increased releases of waste heat. In general, such changes lead to flow and sediment regime changes, geomorphological changes, impaired water quality, reduced biodiversity and overall degradation of water resources. At the same time, growing urban populations impose increasing demands on provision of water services, including water supply, drainage, wastewater collection and management, and beneficial uses of receiving waters. Integrated urban water management is used to mitigate the conflicts between urban development demands on water services and the resulting impacts on local water resources. Specific aspects of urban development impacts on receiving waters and threats to water availability for municipal water supply are addressed in this chapter. Even though the emphasis was placed on water quantity and availability issues, certain aspects of water quality are also included where appropriate.

Since most human activities and ecosystem health are dependent on reliable, adequate water supplies, droughts present a serious national threat to Canada. Large-area droughts have major impacts on a wide range of water-sensitive sectors including agriculture, industry, municipalities, recreation, and aquatic ecosystems. They often stress water supplies by depleting soil moisture reserves, reducing streamflows, lowering lake and reservoir levels, and diminishing groundwater supplies. This in turn affects several economic activities: for example, decreased agricultural production, less hydroelectric power generation, and increased marine transportation costs. In addition, droughts have major environmental implications such as reduced water quality, wetland loss, soil erosion and degradation, and ecological habitat destruction.

The Canadian Water and Wastewater Association, along with Environment Canada and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, developed an online database to encourage information exchange in the rapidly growing field of water-use efficiency.

According to the B.C. River Forecast Centre, “this is not a simple question to answer as there is no easy, quantifiable definition of a drought.

“There are generally considered to be three types of drought that may occur separately or in combination. These are: meteorological droughts (measured by lack of precipitation); agricultural droughts (measured by lack of soil moisture to support crops; and hydrologic droughts (measured by low water levels in streams, lakes, and wells).”

Water-use efficiency and conservation technologies are important components of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s “Healthy Housing” commitment to environmental stewardship. Two initiatives in particular are focused on water-use efficiency.

Drop by Drop: Urban Water Conservation Practices in Western Canada is a report created by the Canada West Foundation to support its goal of encouraging water conservation.

Probe Research Inc. has conducted its second national analysis of Canadians’ attitudes and behaviors on a wide range of drinking water issues. Entitled A Clear Perspective of Canadians and their Drinking Water (2004), the study tracks several important areas from a previous research project conducted in 2002. In addition, several new areas were explored, such as Canadians’ current efforts to conserve water.

What can a small African insect teach us about water conservation? Quite a lot as it turns out. By observing how the Namibian desert beetle survives in the Namib Desert’s perpetually dry climate, a British architectural designer came up with a new way to harvest water. This demonstrated that big ideas could indeed come from the smallest of sources.

Canadians are among the highest water users in the world. Though Canada is perceived as a country with abundant water resources, about 60% of this water supply flows north and is not readily available or easily accessed where it is needed most—in a narrow 300-kilometre band along Canada’s southern border, home to over 84% of the population. Eleven percent of all surface water and groundwater withdrawn in Canada is used for municipal purposes.