World Water Day on March 22 drew global attention to the threat of climate change to dwindling water supplies.

There is plenty of evidence of climate impacts on water availability. Initially, these impacts were most acutely felt in the global south. As a result of these impacts, Cape Town imposed water bans, Syria faced years of drought that contributed to social unrest, Kenyan nomadic herders watched their cattle die from thirst, and parts of Australia were gripped with the worst drought in 800 years.

In recent years, we have also seen the profound impact of climate change on the Northern hemisphere. Southern France has just experienced its driest winter in 60 years, representing an ‘existential crisis’ for farmers. Last year, eight regions in the U.K. experienced a drought that affected groundwater supplies. In the Netherlands, drinking water companies have declared that measures must be taken to avoid water shortages by 2030. Closer to home, water supply from the Colorado River that provides water to seven states has generated headlines; demand from agriculture and residential development has outstripped supply by two-thirds, which has resulted in severe water restrictions.

Halfway through the UN Decade on Water, UN agencies have declared that the world needs to accelerate actions to protect water in the face of major challenges, the greatest of which is climate change.

Should Canada be worried? Looking at our high water consumption and the low cost of water across the country, you would not think so. Canadians are profligate users of water. While average residential water usage has been steadily declining due to more efficient water devices in the home, at 215 litres per day in 2019, we still consume almost twice as much as the U.K. and Germany. Canada also consumes enormous amounts of water through its extractive, manufacturing and agricultural sectors. All industrial, commercial and institutional water takings in 2019 equalled  1,350 million cubic metres, according to Statistics Canada.

Yet Canada cannot remain complacent, particularly in the Prairies. Eighty percent of agricultural produce is grown in the Prairies, which experiences recurring periods of water scarcity. At least five major droughts have occurred in the Canadian Prairies during the past 120 years. Since 2006, the Government of Alberta has not issued new water permits for the South Saskatchewan River basin due to limited water resources. As recently as 2021, drought conditions in the Prairies reduced canola  yields by up to 50 percent in some regions. One bad year of drought drawn out over several years, as we are seeing in the American South or in parts of Europe, would have devastating consequences. Think of the dustbowl era of the 1930s, a drought that lasted over 40 months. Not only would drought conditions impact the agricultural sector, they would also create havoc for everyone, including Indigenous communities, municipalities, and other water-intensive sectors.

Climate change impacts will also have global implications. The UN predicts a 70 percent growth in food demand by 2050 compared to current levels. Between now and then, climate change and its impact on water availability will redefine where, what and how much food can be grown in the world. In other words, in the future, the world may rely even more on Canadian produce for food security.

That is why the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute is calling for a national approach to water. “We need to increase investment and growth in Canada’s agriculture and food system, but that is only possible if we are ready for climate change, and can build resilience and adaptation to its hydro-climatic impacts,” says Tyler McCann, managing director of CAPI. As a starting point to promote dialogue in the sector, CAPI is releasing a series of papers  and webinars funded in part by the RBC Foundation through RBC Tech for Nature. These papers and webinars highlight how water is used by the agricultural sector, and why climate change should be a concern for agri-producers across the country.

Reducing water consumption is not only beneficial for water-scarce regions. As we aim to lower our energy and carbon footprint, we need to consider that less energy is consumed when less water is pumped and treated. That is why municipalities and industries are looking at opportunities and technologies for water reuse and fit-for-purpose treatment of water.

Foresight, a Canadian cleantech accelerator, applies a climate lens to its promotion of water technologies through its water technology network, waterNEXT. It supports companies like Kelowna-based shower company, Rainstick, which reduces water and energy consumption by 80 percent. waterNEXT also supports Livestock Water Recycling, which works with dairy farms to treat manure, creating marketable fertilizer, biogas and reused water.

“When it comes to addressing water scarcity and reducing our water-related carbon footprint, Canada has all the technologies we need,” says Alan Shapiro, director of Foresight’s WaterNext program. “But we have two main impediments. First, the low cost of water and second, the lack of enabling regulation. So many great Canadian tech companies don’t work in Canada because these drivers aren’t in place to create a market. Contrast this with Australia, where there is a market for retrofits at both the home and community scale.”

Whether it is addressing water scarcity, or reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Canada needs to step up when it comes to preparing for hydro-climatic impacts. We urgently need to begin a national dialogue to better understand climate impacts on water, and to start planning a national approach to build resiliency together. We can seek inspiration from Germany, which adopted a national water strategy in March of this year. The strategy has 78 actions to ‘step up the pace of transformation in the water sector’ in light of climate change; this includes taking precautionary measures to prevent water scarcity and avoid conflicts of water use.

In Canada, the federal government is establishing a Canada Water Agency in 2023. While the authority to manage and allocate water is held at the provincial level, the new Canada Water Agency could play an important role in bringing water rights holders and large water users together to begin awareness raising and stimulate dialogue on adapting to and building resiliency in response to hydro-climatic impacts across the country.

Resources