Seeing with new eyes
Image: Unsplash/Silvan Schuppisser
I turn on the tap and water flows. But where does it come from?
London, Ontario's water system and supply of clean water come from both Lake Huron and Lake Erie, through a network of treatment plants, reservoirs, and pumping stations made up of more than 1,620 kilometres of pipes.
Being a city gal, I am used to the fact that water from the Great Lakes moves through pipes to purification stations and then into my tap. I have childhood memories of visiting relatives at their summer cottage where my aunt pumped water from the well directly into her sink. That water comes from aquifers.
Aquifers are geological formations of rocks, sands and gravels that hold water. This water feeds springs, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, and also seeps into the ocean depending on the geographical area. The water accumulates from rain and snowfall.
This year for World Water Day, March 22, 2022, we are invited to celebrate and recognize the importance of groundwater (water from aquifers) – the invisible gift that supports drinking water, sanitations systems, farming, industry, and ecosystems.
People who draw drinking water from private wells do not currently have any enforceable safeguards. “Over 40 municipal drinking water systems throughout Ontario are not covered by the Clean Water Act.” See: https://watercanada.net/feature/ontario-drinking-water-safe
The data sheet for World Water Day 2022 states that almost all liquid freshwater in the world is groundwater, and it will play a critical role in adapting to climate change. Life will not be possible without groundwater.
So how do we protect groundwater?
Contribute to the voices opposing the provincial government’s permit to Blue Triton to continue to take 3.6 million liters of water daily from the Aberfoyle Plant, and 1.1 million liters of water per day from the Hillsbourgh location.
Read Wellington Water Watchers, World Water Day Statement: Wellington Water Watchers.
To avoid depletion requires policies on energy, land use and irrigation.
For a good news story, read what is developing among the Dairy Farmers of Canada: https://dairyfarmersofcanada.ca/en/who-we-are/our-commitments/sustainability/water.
World Water Day each year reminds us to cherish water as gift, as medicine, as sacred, and to ensure that water is available for everyone without becoming a commodity.
2 billion people live without access to safe water. Let’s support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #6 to achieve water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Raise a glass and look with new eyes!
-Sister Loretta Manzara, csj