Photo: Meredith Brown, Clive Doucet, Maude Barlow and Stephen Hazell speak to a standing room only crowd at Saint Paul University in Ottawa about water issues.



Saint Paul University in Ottawa hosted a panel discussion last night about the myth of water abundance in Canada.

Ottawa Riverkeeper Executive Director, Meredith Brown, Council of Canadians National Chairwoman, Maude Barlow, Sierra Club of Canada Executive Director, Stephen Hazell and Ottawa City Councillor, Clive Doucet were all asked to talk about the water crisis and what can be done about it.

The panelists agreed that Canada needs a national water policy and the government must ensure the quality of the nation's tap water.

As a glaring example of unsafe drinking water, you only have to look at the water quality on First Nations communities. As of Sept. 30, 2008, there were 106 First Nations communities across Canada under a drinking water advisory, according to Health Canada.

While many people assume Canada has a surplus of renewable freshwater, the panelists were armed with facts and figures to refute that claim.

Ms. Barlow pointed out that while Canada does have about six and a half per cent of the world's renewable water, 60 per cent of it flows north – not south, where the vast majority of Canadians live.

Canadians consume about 350 litres of water per day - compared to 20 litres per day in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Water Council. While the majority of our water usage goes toward industry and agriculture, many felt that Canadians take water for granted and do not think enough about conserving it.

Ms. Barlow – who has travelled extensively promoting water conservation – said she has seven taps in her house where she can draw as much water as she wants, whenever she wants.

She went on to list several areas of the world that are literally going dry. One of those is China, which is creating a desert the size of Rhode Island every year because of overuse of its water supply.

Ms. Brown brought a regional perspective to the water issue. She talked about the need for all levels of government to get together to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Ottawa River watershed (which provides drinking water to more than 1.6 million people).

Ms. Brown feels, however, there is a lack of data about the watershed and no real strategy to protect it.

She called upon the local community to get involved with Ottawa Riverkeeper and warned against being complacent about water.

"The Ottawa River is one of the few watersheds that flow through a national capital that you can actually swim in," said Ms. Brown.

And that is something worth protecting.