Hi: Working in the environmental sector for the past 35 years I've seen all sorts of stops pulled out by the so called environmentalists. This next one could have somewhat of an impact on the development of the Lowlands. Some more ammunition for another round of protests. Water consumption reduction is the next issue. Below is report put out by a prominent legal firm (Tory's) for your late night reading. Sorry for the formatting..it was a pdf file they sent to me. Regards, Foggy

Call for New Approach to Water-Use Management

Charting a Course: Sustainable

Water Use by Canada’s Natural Resource Sectors −

proposes fundamental changes to

water-use management across Canada. These changes include the use of economic

instruments to improve water conservation and efficiency and the use of a collaborative

approach to water management. While the report focuses on the natural resource

sectors, the implications are much broader.

According to the report, a lack of reliable, publicly available data on water quantity

(with respect to both supply and demand) has negative implications for current and

future water resource management in Canada. For example, it notes that the lack of

baseline water-use measurements undermines efforts to improve efficiency because the

potential to improve is often difficult to estimate, actual improvements cannot be

quantified and incentives for reductions cannot be readily implemented. The report

also indicates that, in Canada, governments at all levels lack the “capacity” to integrate

supply-side and demand-side water quantity data to evaluate future water availability

at a watershed scale.

The report indicates that according to the water data publicly available, the natural

resource sectors accounted for approximately 86% of Canada’s overall water use in

2005 and it predicts that, due to forecasted growth, these sectors may require an

increased level of water in the future. Even if overall water-use efficiency increases

sufficiently to offset any growth in these sectors, the report notes that there may be

regional water shortages, especially in areas with significant oil and gas and

agricultural operations. This issue, together with other changes (such as climate

change), has led NRTEE to conclude (in an earlier report) that the long-term

sustainability of Canada’s water resources “remains in question.” In addition, NRTEE

has suggested that Canada’s water governance and management structures may not be

well positioned to deal with an uncertain water future, especially with respect to water

quantities.

In response, NRTEE recommends that federal, provincial and territorial governments

develop new water strategies based on the following core principles:

Water has value (in economic, social and environmental terms) and should be

managed without harm to its sustainability or that of the ecosystems in which the

water is found;

Water must be conserved and used efficiently; and

Water governance and management should be adaptive and collaborative.

The report sets out proposals and policy approaches to improve water conservation and efficiency. For example, the report indicates that provincial and territorial governments should establish demand-side water data systems that have reporting requirements for water-licence holders, and governments should research sector-specific future water data needs for their jurisdictions.

In addition, the report also proposes the use of economic instruments – such as water charges and

tradable water permits − since economic instruments allow the economic value of water to be revealed.

The report also notes that economic instruments provide incentives and flexibility for water users by

motivating them to determine their water use and adopt water-conserving technologies. Further, the

report notes that NRTEE’s research suggests that a 20% water intake reduction (by the natural resource

sectors) could be achieved with water prices ranging from 5 to 9 cents per cubic metre. However, the

report acknowledges that this research needs to be further considered with improved data sources and

discussed with the natural resource sectors to better understand the opportunities to reduce water use in

response to water prices.

NRTEE also proposed improvements in the use of collaborative governance for water initiatives. These

proposed improvements call for governments to affirm the legitimacy of collaborative water governance

approaches by acting on recommendations provided by the collaborative process as much as possible and

committing to provide formal feedback to the participants in the process when these recommendations

are not implemented. According to NRTEE, collaborative water governance processes need, at least, terms

of reference that clearly describe the roles and responsibilities of the participants.

As a next step, NRTEE has indicated that it will convene experts from across Canada at an event to be

held on January 12, 2012, in Ottawa, Ontario. The purpose of this event is to develop a national action

plan on how to effectively implement the report’s recommendations.