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WATER STATS:
THE GLOBAL PICTURE OF A PRECIOUS RESOURCE
HOW MUCH FRESHWATER DOES CANADA
HAVE?
About 20% of the world's freshwater is found within
Canada's borders. However, we have only 7% of the
world's renewable freshwater (water that is not
retained in lakes, underground aquifers and glaciers).
Almost 9% (or 891,163 square kilometres) of Canada's
total area is covered by freshwater. Canada has
25% of the world's wetlands - the largest wetland
area in the world.
HOW CANADIANS USE WATER:
Generating power - hydro electric, nuclear and fossil
fuel - is how we use 60% of our water.
Our manufacturing industries use another 14%. It
takes 295,000L of water to produce 910kg of paper.
Agriculture represent 9% of water use. One thousands
litres of water is needed to grow 1kg of potatoes.
Municipal and personal accounts for 9%. This includes
homes, hospitals and schools. Most people in Canada
get their water from one of the 4000 municipally-run
water facilities (almost all are publicly owned
and operated) but many people in rural areas rely
on private wells.
Canadians use, on average, 343 litres of water per
person, per day in the home.(see right)
We use a lot of drinking water to keep our yards
green. During the summer half of all treated water
is sprayed on to lawns and gardens.
One lawn sprinkler spraying 19L per minute uses
50% more water in just one hour than 10 toilet flushes,
two 5-minute showers, two dishwasher loads and a
full load of clothes.
THE COST OF WATER IN CANADA
Canadians' demand for water continues to grow, but
we pay relatively little for it. In 1999, the average
price for municipally supplied water (measured by
a water metre) was $0.96 per cubic metre. The same
year, the monthly water and sewage bill for the
average Canadian household was $28.56. This is at
the low end of average prices of OECD (Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.
The cheapest municipal water in Canada is in British
Columbia and Newfoundland. Both provinces have abundant
supplies, gravity-fed systems, and generally good
water quality. The highest priced water is in the
prairies, where water shortages are a problem, and
the territories, where permafrost and other climate
conditions make supply more expensive.
Just over half of the people
in Canada who get water from a municipal utility
are charged based on a water metre. The rest are
charged a flat rate. Statistics show that people
who are on a water metre use 70 per cent less water
than those who are charged a flat rate (269 litres
per person per day vs. 457 litres per person per
day).
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