How many Canadians know much about the Blue Planet Project?

It’s my guess only those connected to the Council of Canadians have even heard of it, let alone know what it’s all about.

The basic premise is water should be a communally-owned public resource readily available to all.

The project is working at the municipal level to ensure that water services remain in public ownership, and it calls on municipalities to declare that water is a human right, something that is exercising the UN also.

Most, though not all, Canadians enjoy one of the world’s best public water systems.

Despite this, summer watering restrictions are needed here on the wet West Coast, and climate change and global warming pose threats to future supplies which are likely to be further stretched by population growth.

Do we have a problem?

There are moral, philosophical and commercial problems with treating water as a human right.

It’s easy to make a case that every citizen should have access to safe, affordable water, but in what volume?

What is an acceptable minimum for drinking, cooking and washing? How much more than this should be allotted to any individual?

Should a farmer be allowed unlimited access to irrigation water to grow food crops if that means downstream users will go short? What right do golfers have to use scarce water to keep their courses green when alternatives are available?

Should industries have any right to discharge toxic wastes into lakes and streams?

It isn’t enough to assert that everyone should have a right to water – it isn’t as simple as that.

As a community, we are bombarded with exhortations to drink bottled water with the claim it is the safe, healthy alternative to tap water. In fact, tap water is continually monitored for quality – though the system has been known to break down, as happened at Walkerton – while bottled water is tested only intermittently.

Should the maxim caveat emptor apply to something as essential as water, or do municipal authorities have a duty to protect the public interest by refuting the misleading statements made by sellers of bottled water?

It’s becoming apparent that many individuals and community groups are not awaiting official intervention but are themselves strongly promoting tap water and avoiding bottles. In addition to the valid concerns for water quality, use and disposal of plastic containers is a separate but related topic.

If water supply and possible commercialisation are troublesome here, where we are blessed with a generous supply, how much more of an issue is it in arid lands where getting even enough for mere survival is difficult?

Are we willing to get engaged?

Dr. Roy Strang writes weekly on the environment for the Peace Arch News. rmstrang@shaw.ca