Canadian Water Conservation Essay Research Paper The

Canadian Water Conservation Essay, Research Paper

The importance of protecting our water resources cannot be overstated. In economic terms, Environment Canada estimates that the measurable contribution of water to the Canadian economy ranges between $7.5 billion and $23 billion per year. In environmental terms, water is the lifeblood of the planet. Without a steady supply of clean, fresh water, all life, including human, would cease to exist.

Fortunately, Canada is blessed with an abundance of water. However, that abundance has led to misuse and abuse of the resource: from household toilets that use 20 liters per flush where 6 liters would do(Tesar, 1998), to industrial plants that use water bodies as convenient sewers.

The quantity, quality and economic problems we face as a result of our use of water are complex but, at least one of the causes of these problems is easy to manage the way we waste water. And, the solution is straight forward water conservation. Simply stated, water conservation means doing the same with less, by using water more efficiently or reducing where appropriate, in order to protect the resource now, and for the future. Using water wisely will reduce pollution and health risks, lower water costs, and extend the useful life of existing supply and waste treatment facilities.

We use water in many ways, and assign different values to those uses. Instream uses such as transportation and recreation are valued highly, but it has proven difficult to give them a dollar value that has any real meaning. For example, just what would the average consumer be willing to pay to swim in a clean lake or for a chance to catch fish in a clean, unpolluted river. This is where Environment Canada encounters discrepancies when determining the net worth of water.

By far the greater number and variety of water uses occur on land. These are called withdrawal uses and, although important to our daily lives, they have tended to be assigned a low value. Water is withdrawn, used and then discharged. Most withdrawal uses consume some of the which means less is returned to the source than was taken out. And, after it has been used, the quality of the water that is returned is often diminished, which has a negative impact on both the environment and recreational instream uses.

In 1991, five main withdrawal uses accounted for a gross water use in Canada of 57.9 billion m3. See Figure 1 in the diagram section for a graphical analysis of the five main uses.

Thermal power generation includes both conventional and nuclear power generating plants, which withdrew about sixty three percent of the total water intake in 1991. This is the greatest user of Canada s water resources. Manufacturing accounted for sixteen percent of water withdrawals in 1991. Food and beverages, chemicals, paper and allied products, and mineral fuels were the main industrial users. Agriculture accounted for nearly nine percent of total withdrawals. Water is used primarily for irrigation, with Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan accounting for ninety five percent of all irrigation demand. Since the majority of irrigation water evaporates, only a small fraction is returned to its source. Mining use, including metal mining, non-metal mining, and the extraction of coal, accounted for one percent of all water withdrawals in 1991. Water is used by the mining industry to separate ore from rock, to cool drills, to wash the ore during production, and to carry away unwanted material. Municipal use accounted for eleven percent of all water withdrawals in 1991. In the municipal sector, about forty nine percent of the water demand is a result of residential use. Figure 2 illustrates municipal water use by each sector.

About sixty three percent of Canadians pay water rates that do not promote conservation. A 1994 study of rate structures by Environment Canada showed that forty six percent of the population was under a flat rate structure which is a fixed charge regardless of the amount of water used. This kind of plan is one that needs to be changed in order to make people realize there will soon be a shortage of water if we do not conserve and reuse more meticulously. Another seventeen percent were under a declining block rate structure, where the consumer’s bill rises at a slower rate as higher volumes of water are used; i.e., the more you use, the less you pay per unit. This is clearly the plan that is most in need of provisions to create public awareness about the country s water issues .

Only about thirty seven percent of the population was found to be under a rate structure that provided an incentive to conserve water. Thirty three percent were under a constant rate structure, this is where the bill to the consumer climbs uniformly with the volume used. Four percent were under an increasing block rate structure, where a successively higher price is charged as larger volumes of water are used. This is the best plan for promoting water conservation and would help tremendously if it was implemented in more municipalities.

Raising the price of water per unit has reduced water use in some jurisdictions, but it must be accompanied by a well articulated public education program that informs the consumer what to expect.(Environment Canada, 1999)

Tied to price increases, metered households generally show reductions in water-use of twenty percent