Threats to water availability in Canada Essay
Access to safe water for a healthy life is a major requirement for people in the world today. Although Canada is seen as a country with abundance of water resources, its population is the highest water consumer in the world causing a threat to its freshwater (Environment Canada 1).
A larger portion of the Canadian population is concentrated in urban areas but many freshwater rivers flow towards the northern side, which is the opposite direction from the populated regions. In Canada, water is valuable and it contributes an income of around $7.5 to $23 billion every year (Environment Canada 3). Currently, most water sources are under pressure due to growing domestic demand of freshwater in Canada. This paper outlines the crisis of freshwater supply faced by Canada.
Agriculture is the highest water consumer and it is estimated that out of the total water consumption in Canada, 70 percent is used for Agriculture (Environment Canada 37). In addition to this, urbanization is another major reason why freshwater supply is reducing rapidly.
At present, there is a lot of construction work going on in Canada and as a result, urban and residential are consuming a lot of water causing increase in water demand. The more worrying news is that changing climatic trends may cause more pressure on the water resources and worsen the situation. In fact, scientists have estimated that droughts may increase in the future threatening fresh water sources (Stanford 15).
Due to increasing threat to the Canadian water resources, much attention has been drawn to different sectors in order to find a long-term solution to the current water crisis. Indeed, there is an urgent need to address the current crisis to ensure that Canada has access to fresh water in the future. To solve the problem, a number of recommendations have been put forward. Foremost, to know what to do, you must first know what is happening (Environment Canada 97).
Thus, a plan to acquire observational and accurate data regarding water has been proposed. By acquiring such data, experts will be aware of the , Canadian fresh water sources, and water-related infrastructure (Stanford 67). Knowledge of this basic information will help the government to have an organized freshwater monitoring program and develop appropriate action plan.
Secondly, it is important to develop research priorities. Developing a research plan will clarify causes of droughts hence improving the climatic conditions (Environment Canada 16). Moreover, research will also help maintain Canadas climate modeling capabilities. With extensive research, the impact of climate change on forests, wetlands, and glacier (freshwater ecosystems) will be clarified too. Eventually, this will help in improving water quality by reducing chemical drainage into water sources among other wastes.
Thirdly, there is need to have informed policies and (Stanford 121). In addition, there is need to develop policies regarding water usage (water rights) in order to minimize conflicts. More research into this topic will provide a good foundation for developing better and informed policies. As such, the Canadian government should adopt science based management practices to help in decision-making (Stanford 121).
Lastly, there is need to have effective leadership and teamwork in order to address Canadas freshwater crisis. Quality scientific leadership will play vital role in developing better assessment programs. In the government level, there is need to have committed leadership and teamwork to that will not frustrate efforts to revive Canadas fresh water supply (Environment Canada 94).
In summary, in order to ensure that Canada has constant supply of freshwater in the future, there is need to develop sustainable action plan. Because of current pressure on Canadas freshwater sources, there is need to do more research, , and have committed leadership so that the nation can continue having social and economical benefits acquired from use of freshwater.
