This book deals with the water policy and management in Canada. It
discusses various problems and risks in the fresh and drinking water
supply in the second largest country in the world. Mohammed Dore argues
that water is underpriced and used wastefully in Canada. In selected
case studies, he illustrates the major threats from human activity to
Canadian freshwaters and drinking water resources, including
manufacturing, mining, oil sands production, animal farming and
agricultural use. Selected case studies include reviews of even dramatic
incidences, e.g. the Walkerton tragedy of 2000, when 7 people were
killed and 200 went onto permanent dialysis treatment because of water
contamination with harmful pathogens.
The book warns that wastewater treatment standards are often not
sufficient, so that many drinking water resources are in peril of
wastewater contamination. As most of the water resources are provincial
responsibility, the book discusses the water management policies in the
different provinces separately. Through a detailed discussion and
statistical analyses, it can define water policy and management lessons
that emerge from the investigated case studies. It ends by contrasting
water policy and practice in Canada with the practice in some European
countries.