FRESHWATER
SCARCITY

The world’s freshwater sources are threatened by global warming. Forget religion, ideology or territory. Imagine world wars fought over access to clean water.

People know that water doesn’t come from a plastic bottle. The water you drink and wash with,  and everything you eat that requires water at some stage to grow, nourish or irrigate will be affected by shrinking glaciers and shifting precipitation patterns. And that’s just addressing the quantity of water. The quality of water will suffer as the planet heats up. Warmer water breeds nasty microbes and algae. Warm, shallow water encourages water-borne parasites.

It's estimated that contaminated water and poor sanitation cause 30,000 deaths around the world every day.¹

And as drought and diversion cause water levels to drop, shallow rivers and lakes will become polluted more easily than larger, deeper bodies of water. As sea levels rise, salt water will escape into coastal freshwater marshes and underground aquifers.

In the event of a flash flood, freshwater reservoirs could be flooded by storm water.

• According to the United Nations Water Development Report of March 2006, the combination of lower precipitation and higher evaporation in many regions is diminishing water quantities in rivers, lakes and groundwater. In addition, increased pollution is damaging ecosystems and the health, lives and livelihoods of those without access to adequate, safe drinking water and basic sanitation.²

Mountain water is used by half the people in the world for drinking, irrigation and as a source of power. But the Himalayan glaciers, a source of drinking water for 5 million people, are expected to vanish by 2050. As these sources begin to disappear, you have to wonder: What happens to the people who depend upon them?

• If current population projections continue, as many as 3.2 billion people could be living in water-scarce or water-stressed conditions by 2025. That's ONE THIRD of the world's population. Currently, 600 million people face water scarcity.³

Don't even think for a second that because we live in vast, water-rich Canada, we're in the clear. If anything, our proximity to vast amounts of freshwater puts us in a very precarious position as the global need for water intensifies. Consider these facts the next time you leave the tap on while you brush your teeth:

• In 2001, Canadians, on average, used 335 litres of water per person per day.⁴

• The Great Lakes contain the largest system of fresh surface water on earth and account for roughly 18 percent of the world’s freshwater supply.⁵

• Over 360 chemical compounds have been identified in the Great Lakes. Many are persistent toxic chemicals—alkylated lead, benzopyrene, DDT, mercury and mirex—dangerous to humans and already destructive to the aquatic ecosystems. Of the ten most highly valued species of fish in Lake Ontario, seven have now almost totally vanished.⁶

 

• In 1999, about 26% of Canadian municipalities with water distribution systems reported problems with water availability within the previous five years.⁷

^{1 Source: http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/manage/poll/e_life.htm
2 Source: http://www.irinnews.org/IndepthMain.aspx?IndepthId=13&ReportId=62312
3 Source: Population Action International. "People and Water". People in the Balance: Population and Natural Resources at the Turn of the Millennium. Update 2002.
4 Source:http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/manage/use/e_munic.htm
5 Source: Government of Canada and US Environmental Protection Agency. The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book. Third Edition, 1995.
6 Source:http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/manage/poll/e_hotspt.htm
7 Source: Environment Canada. Tracking Key Environmental Issues. Ottawa: Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2001, p.18.}