THREATS TO OUR WATER SUPPLY

Water is the precursor to life, how long will it last?

In Canada, at times water is taken for granted since it’s all around us in abundance.  Sometimes we don’t think twice when we leave our faucets running or watering our grass in the middle of the day. Although we may believe that we’ll never run out of water, the reality is that local supply and quality of our water is very much under threat.

Here are factors that drive our water’s future under threat:

1. Uncoordinated effort to store and divert water via dams, irrigation diversions and deforestation
2. Alteration of lands ability to capture, store, purify and release water for the sky
3. Accelerated soil loss in many of the world’s most important food production areas
4. Commodification of water by large corporations diverting water to where the money is (i.e. bottling, industries, etc)

1. Human presence and actions have altered the composition of the atmosphere in which precipitation forms and from which rain falls
2. Widespread contamination of water through personal use or industrial impact

As the threat of safe water depletion intensifies, we will need to start being more contentious on how we view, treat, and manage our finite water supply.

As the global population continues to expand we need to start rethinking our personal water consumption.  The folks at Water Use It Wisely have created ‘One Hundred Great Ways to Guide You in your Water Conservation Efforts.’

We all need to be contentious and do our part in creating a sustainable future for the next generation here in Canada and worldwide.

Sources: United Nations University