Canadians have long been labouring under “the myth of abundance” when it comes to our water resources and we’re in the midst of experiencing an abrupt wake-up call, according to experts.
“We often think of the earth as this wonderful blue pearl, but how much water is there?” says Oliver Brandes, leader of the Water Sustainability Project at the University of Victoria. “Only 2.5 per cent of that water is fresh. A much smaller amount, about 0.3 per cent, is the ground or surface water where we live.”
Brandes told an audience at a September Walrus Talks event that Canada needs to modernize its thinking about water.
“Water, not oil, will define the 21st century,” he said, adding climate change and global conflict will only increase the value of water as a resource.
“If climate change is a shark, water will be its teeth — that’s how we’ll feel it.”