March 22 was World Water Day, a day when we consider this precious life-giving resource: how we can manage it effectively in our own communities, and how we can contribute to the basic need for health-giving drinking water world wide.
In Parksville Qualicum Beach we experience an abundance of water during the winter and spring and then a paucity of it during the summer, and now into the fall it seems. Perhaps we can set an example for other communities by requiring all new structures are plumbed for rain harvesting and drip water systems. Not a large addition to the sale price/mortgage, but a huge addition to the management of water within our communities.
I think great results are possible by turning our magnificent brains, current technology and moral commitment towards managing water in our own community and to globally contributing to drinking water for all citizens. Canada has one fifth of the world’s fresh water. We need to regulate and manage it to safeguard its future for Canadians and the world.
It’s also time for the federal government to implement the right to clean water in Canada by passing an environmental bill of rights that respects, protects and fulfills our right to a healthy environment, including the right to clean water.
Lois EatonQualicum Beach