Water Use
Definition
Water use refers to the amount of water that is used by Domestic purposes, Industrial, Commercial, and Institutions. Domestic purposes refers to things such as washing, toilets, food preparation, and lawn sprinklers. Institution refers to churches, schools, and government.
Why This Matters
Although Canada has abundant renewable freshwater, how much water each region receives varies based on location, drought, or demand. In urban populations especially, increasing demand, climate change, and the high cost of replacing aging infrastructure will likely make sustainable water management more difficult in future. Canada does recycle its freshwater, but on a small scale in isolated areas, and largely for agricultural use in areas like British Columbia and the Prairies. So, as municipal water supplies decrease or degrade in the future, water reuse in Canada will likely have to increase; in the meantime, the easiest and best answer may simply be to use less water (Neighbour, 2020).
Sources
City of Brandon. Public Water Supply. 2019 Annual Report. Retrieved from https://www.brandon.ca/images/pdf/developmentServices/waterTreatment/2019_Public_Water_Supply_Annual_Report.pdf
City of Brandon. Public Water Supply. 2020 Annual Report. Retrieved from https://www.brandon.ca/images/pdf/developmentServices/waterTreatment/2020_PWS_Annual_Report_-_Final_002.pdf
Reference
Neighbour, J. (2020, September 16). Does Canada need to conserve it’s water? Science. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/partner-content-where-our-water-goes-canada
Water Use in the Sustainable Development Goals
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3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers associated with child and maternal mortality. Major progress has been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, many more efforts are needed to fully eradicate a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues.