By Robert E.J. Leech, B.Sc., M.Eng.Sc., Chairman, Gartner Lee Limited
After years in the doldrums, with most hydrogeologists migrating (pun intended) to the contaminant side of the business, the pendulum is now swinging back to the more interesting and fundamental supply side of our science. Cries from hydrogeologists about the need for all levels of government to get engaged in understanding this vital resource better, have fallen on deaf ears. The Walkerton water tragedy focussed attention on the importance of groundwater. It is now up to the groundwater industry to show leadership, or once again fall into neglect and decades of inactivity.
Over three million people in Canada rely upon groundwater for their daily needs as do a significant number of industries. Groundwater very definitely is big business, but it is not treated as such and it receives very little attention and almost insignificant funding. In the past, groundwater supplies in this water wealthy nation were developed by simply drilling a hole in the ground and pumping to see if it met the demand. If the demand grew over a period of time, further wells would be drilled in almost the same place. All of this went on without a proper understanding of the aquifer's potential or an understanding of the resource management issues and associated environmental impacts.
We are now beginning to understand the issues that poor groundwater management creates: reduction of stream baseflow, drying up of wetlands, interference with other groundwater uses, induced contamination from various land uses, and deteriorating water quality.
The groundwater industry should now focus on introducing sound scientific methodologies to understand the resource. This will require a significant amount of investment, time and money to complete. The groundwater industry is ready and willing to invest the time, but are the governments (the owners) prepared to invest the money? They will cry poverty, but I argue the money is there. Now is the time for governments to go to full-cost recovery on pricing water. The cost of water on average in Canada is about $0.60/m3, which is well below half the price paid by most European countries. With the current public attention on water issues, the time is right to implement full-cost recovery mechanisms. This will allow municipalities to properly fund the science and engineering studies to manage the resource in a sustainable and efficient manner.
Another area where governments can contribute to water resource management is the introduction of full metering for municipal systems. Studies in Canada have clearly demonstrated that metering leads to significantly lower consumption. This is voluntary conservation by members of the public.
Export of water is a lightning rod for nationalists and environmentalists alike. This is an issue where politics have relied upon emotion and not science. We need to apply science and economics to this issue to understand our water resources and to delineate whether there are resources available for export from a sustainable perspective. By way of example, over the past few years several water export initiatives have been brought forward; Gisborne Lake in Newfoundland, the Nova Group in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Snowcap Waters Ltd. in British Columbia.
Each of these initiatives has created controversy and all have been rejected by various jurisdictions. These initiatives are proposing to export bulk water by tanker, and bottled water in the case of Gisborne Lake. The total volume of water would be less than 3% of Ontario's consumptive use from the Great Lakes. Is it not our duty to help support those less fortunate, particularly if it can be done in a sound environmental fashion and a strong business case can be made?
The water industry, and groundwater in particular, has significant challenges ahead. It is clear now, following several public health incidents, that the public will is there to support increased investment into our water supplies.
The big question is: are our governments up to the challenge? The money is available simply through proper pricing of water. The next few years could see a resurgence of the water industry and the return of our municipal systems to ones that deliver some of the best water quality in the world.
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