Last month, I wrote about the potential value of wastewater for heating and cooling buildings. This month, I’m continuing to focus on the value of wastewater but through a different lens: its potential as a source of fertilizer. A global fertilizer shortage, triggered in part by the Straight of Hormuz blockade, is driving up costs and constraining supply as farmers prepare for the spring planting season.

Looking back, January 2026 may be remembered as the point when Canadians woke up to the reality of water scarcity, particularly groundwater scarcity, amid climate change and rapid growth. We know that Canada has 20 percent of the world’s total freshwater, but only about seven percent is renewable. This makes security, not abundance, the right frame for the decade ahead.

Across Canada, major reviews and new legislation are prompting calls for sweeping changes to how water and wastewater services are governed. However, the rush to restructure risks may be obscuring what truly keeps communities safe.

Long-term infrastructure decision makers have always faced the challenge of forecasting a future they cannot accurately predict — estimating the timing and location of the arrival of that anticipated future. In more stable times, these challenges were manageable.