CJOB News Team reporting
5/23/2012
A very revealing report about the use of Water by Canadians will be released Wednesday at the 2012 Living Lakes Canada Gathering held at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg.
According to the report Canadians use more water than almost anyone on earth, 329 litres a day. During the summer months, 50 per cent of it goes on the lawn or the garden.
Canmore-based Bob Sandford, co-chair of the Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW) and one of Canada's foremost water experts conduicted a 16-city cross-Canada tour last October and November. He spoke to hundreds of Canadians, getting a first-hand account of the state of fresh water across the country.
The 42-page report on the tour documents the growing need for solutions that transcend chronic jurisdictional challenges.
Sandford says the way Canadians use water, it appears we think we have an endless supply, but some people He says are growing concerned about water -- a concern fuelled by climate change -- and an urgent call for a national water strategy is emerging.
On his tour stop in Winnipeg, Sandford is joined by other water experts including moderator Helen Fallding from the University of Manitoba, Merrell-Ann Phare and Norm Brandson of FLOW, and Vicki Burns of the Lake Winnipeg Project. They identified two of Manitoba’s major water-related challenges:
Agricultural runoff: Natural treasures such as Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba are slowly being choked by large algae blooms and Flooding: Some experts fear due to climate change, the region is experiencing the loss of climate stability, which could mean increasing risk of floods like the one in 2011, where damage exceeded $700 million
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