To the Editor,
Re: Action needed on water, Letters, May 22.
Based on the fact that only one per cent of Canada’s fresh water is renewable and our water use and consumption is currently unsustainable, this decision deeply concerns me.
Our water is becoming increasing polluted and depleted by unsustainable industrial, agricultural and municipal activities.
The bottled water industry should not be supported nor condoned in our community.
During the production and transportation of bottled water, climate-change causing greenhouse gasses are emitted and watersheds are destroyed. Bottled water also leads to water shortages, and cannot be supported by our landfills.
Besides, bottled water is not necessarily more pure or safe.
Water is a human right.
The recognition of water as a human right will grant those in our community lacking access to clean drinking water a legal tool to exercise this right. It will also provide legal recourse from the destruction of source water by industrial activities.
Municipalities are responsible for water quality, supply, treatment and conservation.
The adoption of a water commons framework to address these problems at the community level is crucial in the battle to preserve water and ensure fair access to all.
Adopting the Blue Community initiative entails three fundamental actions on behalf of the city council: recognizing water as a human right, promoting publicly financed, owned and operated water and wastewater services, and banning the sale of bottled water in public facilities and at municipal events.
I, a youth resident, am urging my municipal government to act upon this pressing need to protect, preserve and sustain fresh water.
Carly Breault
Nanaimo