 Environment - February 2, 2008 |
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Water for Life established in 2003 to protect water supplies for the future
Council wants action on water |
By Kevin Ma
Staff Writer
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Alberta needs to speed up Water for Life by accelerating its protection of lakes and rivers, says a provincial council.
Established by the province in 2003, the Water for Life Strategy outlines how Albertans should protect their water supplies in the future. The province asked the Alberta Water Council, the arms-length group that oversees the plan, to review the plan’s progress last year. The council released its recommendations this week.
"We have accomplished a tremendous amount since 2004," said council member Ron Pearson. "There are about 30 initiatives under way in the province today that would not have occurred if they were not under the umbrella of Water for Life."
The province had made good progress towards its goals of safe drinking water and reliable supplies for the economy, the report found, but had fallen way behind on protecting water ecosystems. "There is momentum, but we need more action to kick it to the next step," Pearson said.
Respondents to the council’s online survey last year said they were frustrated with the strategy’s pace, the report found, and believed wetlands, lakes and rivers were being slowly compromised by development.
University of Alberta water biologist David Schindler voiced this frustration during his comments on the report. "It’s creeping in the right direction, but we have development running rampant," he said. "We either have to slow development or accelerate the [strategy’s] pace."
Clearer goals
Survey respondents said Water for Life needed more specific benchmarks to measure progress. The strategy’s most concrete goal at this time is to raise water use efficiency by 30 per cent by 2015. Last year’s report on the strategy by the Rosenberg International Forum also made this recommendation.
"To start off, who the hell knows what a ‘healthy ecosystem’ is?" Schindler asked, referring to the strategy’s goal of "healthy aquatic ecosystems." If you define it as a lake without algae blooms, for example, then you should immediately ban lakeshore development, because cabin runoff contributes to them. Vague objectives meant that many watershed groups were wasting their time on side projects while development continued to harm lakes and rivers, he said.
The province also needs to clarify roles and responsibilities, Pearson said. The strategy involves many interest groups and all levels of government but does not specify who has jurisdiction over what. "The government has to take the lead," he said.
The province needs to do more research on ground and surface water as well, the report found. The province’s $30-million water research fund was a step in the right direction, Pearson said. The report recommended that the province use the data it does have to create protection plans for watersheds.
Adaptation ahead
The province needs to raise public awareness of water issues, Pearson said. "People in the province need a better idea of what a strong water ethic would be about."
Environment Minister Rob Renner suggested Albertans were starting to understand the value of water. "People are becoming increasingly aware that water is not an abundant resource, that it is a finite resource and that the allocation of water needs to have serious consideration."
The province needs to show its commitment to Water for Life by investing in education, monitoring and enforcement, Schindler said. Appointing a deputy minister to this file would also help co-ordinate government actions, he added.
The report is available at albertawatercouncil.ca. |
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