Protecting Freshwater Top Priority for Majority of British Columbians

We posted several articles on the topic of Water this fall.  Many of the topics included in the Cranbrook Connected Questionnaire have to do with water. Without a healthy and secure source of water we are in serious trouble.

This article was posted by Vicki Burns on the Community Foundations of Canada Blog.  It is reassuring that survey participants feel this way - can we count on action I wonder.

http://canadawater.wordpress.com/


Protecting Freshwater Top Priority for Majority of British Columbians -Vancouver Foundation and WWF-Canada Team Up to Survey the Public’s Attitudes

A recently released poll of British Columbia residents is good news for all of us who are focussing on water issues in Canada. It confirms once again that Canadians view freshwater as our most precious natural resource. The McAllister Opinion Research Poll found that 91% of British Columbians surveyed felt that freshwater resources in their province were the most important resource and a resounding 94% felt that nature and wildlife needs related to water should be a top priority in new water rules being developed by the province of B.C.
I was impressed to see the Vancouver Foundation partnering with WWF-Canada in polling the public about their attitudes regarding water. When I asked Mark Gifford, the Director of Grants and Community Initiatives for the Vancouver Foundation, what motivated them to be involved he quickly responded “Water and its protection are fundamental in thinking about the long term health of our province and its residents. It made sense for the Vancouver Foundation to be involved in this initiative”.

These poll results will surely give the B.C. government the support they need to move ahead with modernizing their Water Act.

Some of the measures the public would like to see included are:

* Stricter rules for managing industrial and municipal water use (89 per

cent).

* Using science to inform water management decisions (89 per cent).

* Requiring commercial enterprises to obtain licences for groundwater use

(89 per cent).

* Requiring active monitoring and reporting of all water use by industry and

municipalities (91 per cent).

Actually, wouldn’t it be great to see these types of considerations for water management put into a federal act for all of Canada? The same principles of protection for one of life’s most essential elements, water, should be consistent across the entire country. It’s hard to imagine a logical argument why not.