Various regions around the world are experiencing growing concerns of freshwater scarcity due to extreme human pressures of contamination and over-taking, and further exacerbating these pressures is anthropogenic climate change (Gleeson et al., 2017; Richey et al., 2015). Ontario is no different from the rest of the world in that it exerts a variety of human pressures on its water systems, and climate change (as a global issue) is likely to further impact our ability to manage these resources. There is, however, a key difference in terms of the volume and accessibility of Ontario’s freshwater compared with the rest of the world; where Ontario is the envy of the world with its ‘abundance’ of this valuable resource. The Province of Ontario has copious legislation echoed by the Clean Water Act and a variety of other statutes designed to protect and sustain the sources of freshwater within the province. Even so, increasing demands on Ontario’s existing water resources, contamination, and unsustainable water exploitation remain a current threat to the province and are often overlooked; owing to the ‘myth of water
abundance’ that continues to persist in the region. For many Canadians, water is the underpinning of our national identity and we take great pride in Canada as having one of the world’s largest supplies of freshwater on the planet. This view has been echoed by the Government of Canada, who have relayed to the public that “Canada may be considered a freshwater-rich country” (Natural Resources Canada, 2017). As a result, many Canadians and Ontarians believe that a quarter of the world’s freshwater supply is found in Canada, ultimately adding to the perception that Canada has a near unlimited supply of this valuable resource. However, this abundance is more myth than reality, as the following will illustrate.
Canadians are often told by their politicians and media outlets that we have ample amounts of freshwater within our lakes. One reason for this perception is that we have abundant places for water to collect, such as in the depressions left by receding glaciers from thousands of years ago, that can be visually observed in abundance across the country (Schindler, 2006). In Ontario, most of these depressions are apparent in the Great Lakes, in various swaths of wetlands and smaller lakes within Algonquin Provincial Park, the ORM, and many other bodies of water that are entrenched within provincial boundaries (Schindler, 2006). However, having more Basins to catch rain does not mean that the province receives more precipitation. This is also true across Canada as a whole. In fact, when compared to its global counterparts, Canada gleans on average much lower annual volumes of precipitation. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations report that Canada receives about 537 mm of precipitation per year; which, when compared to its global counterparts, is ranked 134th out of 177 (from highest to
lowest in annual precipitation volume) (United Nations, 2014b). Contrary to common belief, Canada’s annual rate of precipitation is much less than when compared to most other countries. On a global scale, the fact that Canada is above average in the amount of freshwater resources, but below average in the amount of annual precipitation, further emphasizes the importance of protecting freshwater resources within the country. Moreover, many of the depressions that have allowed for freshwater to collect were a result of receding glaciers; and thus, if we contaminate our freshwater systems, or extract more than can replenished by natural processes, our ‘abundant’ supplies of freshwater can be depleted.
The myth of water abundance can be attributed to the fact that Canada holds approximately seven percent of the world’s renewable supply of freshwater, but only 0.50 percent of the world’s population (Warren, 2016; Klamar, 2015). Even though the Great Lakes constitute 18 to 20 percent of the available global freshwater, the annual rate of natural replenishment by precipitation and surface run-off is in fact less than one percent which constitutes the ‘renewable’ component of the Great Lakes (Environment Canada & Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, 2014); thus, making the region susceptible to anthropogenic over-taking. Moreover, Canada’s water is not equally distributed, such that the majority of Canada’s population lives in the southern portion of the country (i.e., southern Ontario), but “60 percent of the country’s renewable water drains to the north,” and therefore access to water resources is limited (Klamar, 2016, para. 5). Canadians also do not realize that, globally, freshwater is a scare natural resource that is also becoming scarcer every day.
The ‘myth of water abundance’ perceived by Canadians can also be viewed through statistics in municipal water use. Analyzing municipal water use in Canada compared to global trends is reflective of the general population; and thus, other sectors (i.e., industry and agriculture) have no influence on measuring how citizens of Canada perceive the abundance of water within the country. By this example, we can observe how Canadians (generally) view water as an abundant resource. For example, the overall volume of freshwater extracted and used for municipal use per capita in Canada is one of the highest when compared to other OECD countries (Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, 2017). According to the World Health Organization, the average per capita requirement of water is within 50 to 100 liters per person/per day, to fulfill all basic human and residential needs (Howard & Bartram, 2003). The municipal water use in Ontario, Canada, as of 2013, is measured at 200 liters per person/per day (Statistics Canada, 2013). Accordingly, the amount of municipal water consumption is two to four times greater in Ontario than what is required to fulfill all basic human and residential needs.
Contributing to the high volumes of municipal water consumption in Ontario is also reflected in water pricing for municipalities; wherein water is exceptionally underpriced, and it is therefore an undervalued resource that lacks effective market pricing mechanisms (Wood, 2014). As shown in Figure 24, countries with lower water prices generally consume more water.
Various academic papers have also concluded that by underpricing water, both the value of the resource is overlooked and there is a failure of signaling the looming threats of water resources to users; thereby resulting in over-taking, wastage, and ultimately conflicts among users that is likely to worsen in future years (Renzetti, 2017, Bruneau et al., 2013).
Figure 24: Municipal Water Consumption (liters per day per person) and Water Pricing (purchasing power parity) by Country (Source: Bruce et al., 2017)
In addition to Canada’s overall highly consumptive municipal water use, industrial water- taking in the country is predicated on the perception that Canada is in excess supply of water resources. For example, in 2009, industry was Canada’s largest water user, using 30.6 billion cubic meters (Conference Board of Canada, 2013). As many parts of the world are experiencing growing concerns of freshwater scarcity, Ontario is one such location that is considered to be a major “trade-friendly” location for water-dependent industries and agriculture (Rubin, 2017). Although water in bulk is not directly exported, its use in the production of goods (i.e., bottled water and agriculture) consume significant quantities of water (ibid). As a result, some
researchers suggest that “virtual water” embedded in these products is traded internationally to water-scarce countries (Debaere, 2014; Konikow & Kendy, 2005, 319), and it is estimated that about twenty percent of water consumption in the world relates to the production of export goods (Ercin et al., 2013). As global demand for these products is estimated to increase with growing human populations, a growing concern among the literature is that the pressure on domestic water resources will likely, and consequently, increase for regions (like Ontario) to be perceived as water-abundant (Debaere, 2014; Ercin et al., 2013).
This perception is widely known in Canada; a country that is unanimously viewed as “water-rich” as it possesses 18 to 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater and has many of the largest lakes and rivers (Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2013b). Canada’s supposed water abundance is more myth than reality, propagated by politicians and the media, which enables governments to ignore the need for water policy, water conservation, and efficient water pricing for all sectors (especially residential and industrial use, and underpricing water that contributes to Canadians’ perception of water abundance) (Schindler, 2006). Nonetheless, Canada’s water resources face a myriad of threats arising from population growth, urban expansion and land use change, natural resource-based developments, looming implications of climate change, a growing reliance on large-scale irrigation, industrial and commercial over- taking of source water, surface water contamination, and a legacy of past laws and regulations that are unable to adequately address these new challenges. Many of these challenges have been illustrated throughout this paper. These challenges also indicate that the dependency on water for human survival should serve as a reminder to Canadians, and that the perception of water abundance in Canada can no longer be overlooked.
Accordingly, to ensure the sustainability of Ontario’s limited stocks of freshwater resources, we must proactively manage and protect our water systems in all we do. This would mean that we must sufficiently value water for what it is and charge accordingly for its withdrawal and consumption. A change in how Canadian citizens view the availability of freshwater resources in Ontario must also be changed to improve overall water efficiency and sustainability at the municipal, provincial, and national scale.