WC134 JanFeb 2024 - Magazine - Page 30
GROUNDWATER
Mapping Water’s Future
Canada1Water offers tools for communityfocused sustainable water management
BY ANDREW KIRKWOOD
ATER MAY BE A UNIVERSAL NECESSITY,
but it’s also an extremely local concern. Communities have vastly different needs—and questions—
influenced by their size, reliance on groundwater or
surface water resources, and expected economic and
population growth. What’s lacking today is an accurate, integrated, forward-looking model to help resolve uncertainties and set
sustainable strategies. Canada1Water aims to fill that gap.
Canada has always experienced cycles of water availability.
Some of these are short-term (seasonal) while others unfold
over decades or longer. These natural cycles are accentuated by
climate change, land-use decisions, and resource consumption,
but there’s very little baseline information to predict how and
to what degree.
The impacts on groundwater are especially concerning. Onethird of Canadian communities depend on groundwater for
domestic and industrial uses, a figure that jumps to nearly twothirds in rural areas. Although Canada has been fortunate to
W
Andrew Kirkwood
Canada1Water
Andrew Kirkwood is a freelance
writer based in Ottawa, with a focus
on science and technology topics.
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WATER C AN ADA • JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2024
