Water

Stories about our relationship – and challenges – with water are in the news every day. A university campus bans bottled water, Botswana bushmen win the right to re-open a well on their ancestral lands, fracking for natural gas is opposed because of threats to groundwater. Water scarcity and safety are not new issues but they continue to garner attention because clean water is universally recognized as something we all need to survive.

Canada finally did the right thing and reversed years of unsound policy last May when it formally recognized the right to water by supporting a UN World Health Assembly resolution calling on countries to improve “the realization of the human right to water and sanitation.” That resolution explicitly referenced earlier right-to-water resolutions from which Canada had abstained. In other words, Canada seemed to acknowledge that its previous position was unsound – and the source of considerable international embarrassment – and voted accordingly.

There’s an ideological battle raging in the Fraser Valley, and the cost and reliability of region's future water supply may depend on who wins.

Concerned about water scarcity in the future, Abbotsford and Mission want to develop a new municipal water source at Stave Lake. 

The original proposal was to build the project as a public-private partnership, or P3. But the partnership arrangement proved controversial because of concerns about the possibility of losing control of local water resources, about several high-profile service problems on water P3s elswhere and about the potential for spiraling water rates.

The plan required approval by municipal councils in both regions. Given the hostile public response, Mission Council has rejected the proposal and Abbotsford is delaying its vote.  

Abbotsford Mayor George Peary, however, still vows to push the plan through.

If you live in North America, it turns out that you’re much more likely to have access to clean drinking water if you’re wealthy, white and don’t live in a rural area or a First Nations’ community.

The situation is getting so bad that international human rights authorities are sending in experts to investigate and to shine a light on the problem.    The UN’s Independent Expert on the “right to water” recently completed a two week tour of the United States and the results are troubling.

UN independent expert Catarina de Albuquerque said: “I am concerned that several laws, policies and practices, while appearing neutral at face value, have a disproportionate impact on the enjoyment of human rights by certain groups.”

Since last week’s post, “BC’s water to be sold to the highest bidder?," the “Living Water Smart” folks have two responses on their blog asserting that water is not being “privatized” (“What do we mean by water markets” and  “Water markets not about privatizing water”).  

Focusing on “privatization” is a distraction that comes down to semantics.  Many believe that making a water right something that can be sold constitutes privatization. The Ministry obviously defines it differently. 

The real questions are whether or not the proposed Water Sustainability Act lives up to its name and protects the environment and the public interest, and whether BC should introduce water markets now.  The answer to both these questions is a resounding no.