I am happy to hear that…

I am happy to hear that municipalities will have a say when a water bottler comes to town to start pumping water for profit or when an already existing water bottler wants to increase the amount they pump. This is an important piece of the democratic process. In the case of water bottlers making a profit off the water they take from a community is a practice whose time has come. It is offensive at least and deeply troubling in light of the growing environmental problems we face as a whole. Bottled water is an unnecessary commodity except where safe drinking water is unavailable and it should be phased out in our province. The government needs to give communities the support necessary to provide studies that show the science behind their decision to oppose water taking for profit. With that said, the government should go a step further and allow a community to oppose water taking for profit for any reason, considering that water is a human right and should not be sold in plastic bottles at a huge mark up and huge environmental cost. It takes 1/4 litre of oil and 3 litres of water to produce 1 litre of bottled water. We need to examine the real costs involved in allowing this kind of industry to exploit local water to make a profit.

There definitely needs to be a priority when it comes to water use. And yes the environment and municipal use should be at the top of that list.

With the uncertainties of the climate crisis that looms before us, it is a very wise decision to assess and manage multiple water takings over large areas. We can no longer take for granted that the water will always be there, especially when it is shipped out of the watershed as it is in water bottling. We need to protect our increasingly vulnerable ecosystems. When they are healthy, we are healthy. The government needs to protect rivers, streams, aquifers, fish and wildlife through an updated and careful water management program. With population increases, there is more stress on our natural environment and more need to keep a balance between development and conservation for present and future life.

Of course water taking and monitoring data should be available to the public. Whose water is it anyway? We all pay taxes and deserve to have a say in how our resources are used and to see when they are being protected and managed wisely and when they are not.

Thank you