Resource sector draining supply

Study advises national plan to prevent crunch
By Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service June 10 2010
Natural resource industries in Canada are consuming about five times more water than the rest of the country, leaving the nation vulnerable to a looming scarcity challenge in the absence of a new national plan, says a new report published by a federal government advisory panel on business and environmental issues.
The study, Changing Currents, was produced by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. It raised the concerns after finishing the first half of a two-year study examining whether Canada has enough water to support economic growth while maintaining healthy ecosystems.
“Canada’s apparent water abundance masks a looming scarcity challenge for our important natural resource sectors and for certain regions of our country,” said the report. “Water scarcity is not a national problem in Canada, but it is certainly a regional one and this can be of national significance. One need only look to the prairies of Alberta and Saskatchewan and to British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley to witness clear examples of regions facing water shortages.
The report suggests that the federal government should co-ordinate a national approach to better manage use and consumption while researching all of the risks. “There is an overall lack of capacity and expertise across the country to effectively manage water resources,” said the report. “This is reflected in the reduction of scientific capacity as well (as) policy expertise within governments.”
It also highlights a wide range of factors that could affect Canada’s supply of the resource. “Between now and 2050, Canada’s population is expected to increase by 25 per cent, the Canadian economy is predicted to grow approximately 55 per cent by 2030, and climate change is anticipated to increase temperatures, change precipitation patterns, and increase the frequency of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts,” said the report. “These stresses will impact Canada’s watersheds and create new pressures on the long-term sustainability of our water resources.”
Overall, the report said that natural resource industries account for about 84 per cent of Canada’s gross water use. It said that thermal electrical power generation facilities and agriculture operations were among the greatest users of water, while the oil and gas sector uses smaller amounts but could affect water quality and ecosystem integrity in specific regions such as the oilsands.
“A lot of the problem about water is we take it for granted,” said David McLaughlin, president and CEO of the round table. “So we don’t really know enough about what the value of water is to the (economic) sectors. … We also don’t know enough about what the value for the non-sector use is (or) what the value is for the ecosystems.”
Environment Minister Jim Prentice praised the advisory panel’s work but said it was too early to decide on possible changes in management or governance of water usage.
“I think all of us recognize that water is an increasingly scarce resource, a valuable resource, and while we have enormous blessings in our country relative to our water supply, we still have to take care of those and I think the report will help us make some of those choices,” he said. “We need to make sure we have the management regimes in place. … We need to make sure that we’re not polluting our water and so on all of those areas we have initiatives going on.”
The second half of the study is expected next year.