A Countrywide Concern
"By Bob Sandford – UN Water For Life
In comparison to the rest of the world, Canada has adequate water. But it’s not unlimited, as we so often believe. The reality is that most of our water is stored in lakes, ice or permanent snow.
Much of our water is fossil water, left over from an earlier, wetter geological age. This is water in the ‘bank’. Once we ‘spend’ this water, it is gone.
Only a small increase in temperature could cause losses to this stored water. Glaciers will disappear and standing fossil water in northern lakes will evaporate. As this happens, the water system of Canada will change, resulting in severe droughts, particularly in the western provinces. It would also have harmful impacts on the rest of our geography, including The Great Lakes Basin, home to one in three Canadians, where water levels are already at historic lows in some areas. Other consequences anticipated are forest fires, storms, flooding, ice jams and landslides.
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