Canada's rivers are at risk and some are even close to drying up because of climate change and growing demand for water, warns a new report.
In its report "Canada's Rivers at Risk: Environmental Flows and Canada's Freshwater Future," the WWF-Canada looks at the health of 10 major rivers, not by analyzing the water quality but by assessing their water flow.
It says the combined threats of climate change and growing demand for fresh water are hurting Canada's rivers. That demand is growing through:
- agriculture
- electricity generation
- expanding cities
- and industry needs
"Even seemingly remote northern waters like the Mackenzie are at risk," says Tony Maas, the director of Fresh Water for WWF-Canada said in an statement. "As temperatures rise, and industrial water withdrawals and interest in hydropower increase, we must start planning now to protect river flows to ensure water security for the communities and economies that depend on them."
According to the report, the water flow in some of Canada's biggest and most important rivers, such as the South Saskatchewan and the St. Lawrence, have been modified to the extent that ecosystems are in serious trouble.
Other rivers, including some of the planet's increasingly scarce large, free-flowing rivers like the Skeena, the Athabasca, and the Mackenzie - could soon be in trouble, it warns.
Ironically, government attempts to seek out "greener forms of energy that coal-fired energy plants may actually be hurting out rivers.
The growing demand for low-carbon energy is driving construction of new hydropower projects and those can alter river flows and cause species and ecosystems to suffer, the report notes.
Not only is water being diverted in Canada's rivers, climate change is altering the entire context of water management, resulting in changing precipitation patterns, increasing evaporation, melting glaciers, and causing droughts and floods to become more frequent and intense.
The report recommends two critical points of action for restoration and protection of river flows. For one, there must be a long-term plan to keep rivers flowing.
"This includes strong federal leadership to address climate change - both at the UN Climate Conference this December, as well as in implementing a credible, national action plan to reduce emissions and put strategies into place for adapting to a changing freshwater future across Canada," WWF-Canada recommends.
As well, the federal government must take the lead in "water stewardship." For example, the vast Mackenzie River is a priority for freshwater conservation. The federal government should protect the river by implementing the Mackenzie River Transboundary Water Agreement.
That agreement ensures that intensive development in upstream areas does not impair the health of the river, and the communities, downstream.
These issues are of a scope and scale that require national leadership on fresh water in Canada now," Gerald Butts, President and CEO of WWF-Canada, said in a statement.
"Water is our most important national resource. Our responsibility is to steward it wisely to ensure that future Canadians can benefit from it as we do today."
