Sudbury scientist says Canada can't afford to take water for granted

As water shortages in places like Cape Town, South Africa, continue to make news around the world, it can be easy to take our supply for granted in Canada, where water seems abundant.

But a Sudbury scientist says our country faces its own challenges when it comes to water quality and conservation.

"We think of ourselves as just flowing in water and that it's ever so renewable that we don't have to worry about it," John Gunn, the director of the Vale Living with Lakes Centre, said in an interview with CBC's Morning North.

"But there are serious parts of Canada that are suffering great threats."

'We can't be taking this for granted'

In the prairies there are growing concerns about depleted underground reservoirs, Gunn said. He also pointed to cities like Vancouver, which rely on mountain snow and glaciers that are slowly declining.

"So there are areas in Canada let alone the tragedies we face in First Nations communities and the stark problem we faced in Ontario not too long ago, with the deaths in Walkerton where we can't be taking this for granted."

Seven people died after an outbreak of E.coli contaminated the water supply in Walkerton, Ontario in May 2000.

Across the country, First Nations communities are frequently under water advisories that can last for several years.

In northern Ontario, mining and industrial development also lead to concerns about water quality, Gunn said.

"We sit in a situation where we need better technologies, better management techniques in northern Ontario, even in an area of plentiful water, to allow development to occur without destroying the basis for life that's the water."

A Decade of Water

The United Nations recently declared 2018 the start of a Decade for Action on water, with the first World Water Day to be held on Thursday, March 22.

Gunn said this will be an important time for countries, including Canada, to develop and share expertise around land and resource management.

"How do we manage landscapes in a way to protect and produce clean water?" he said.

"We can't sustain our drinking supplies if we don't manage our landscapes better."