With global cities like Cape Town, South Africa and Sao Paulo, Brazil flirting with the reality of water taps running dry for good, the Cowichan Watershed Board is pushing a ‘culture of conservation.’
The Cowichan Water Conservation Challenge launched in July 2014 and the goal is to reduce residential water use by 20 per cent across seven water districts by 2019.
Cowichan Watershed board member David Slade says Canadians are some of the worst water-wasters in the world.
Slade says figuring out water conservation numbers involves working with the water districts and calculating how many litres a day are used per person, per household.
He adds that the Cowichan Weir and the one arm of the Cowichan River that runs dry every summer are stark reminders of how low our water levels get during the hot summer months.
Slade says low flow rates have significant, long-term effects.
Ladysmith and Cowichan Bay are the best communities in the Cowichan Valley when it comes to water conservation.
The City of Duncan, Municipality of North Cowichan, Cowichan Valley Regional District, Cowichan Tribes, water districts in Mill Bay and Cowichan Bay, along with the Town of Lake Cowichan are all subject to stage one watering restrictions.
Eleven most likely cities to run out of water:
- Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Bangalore, India
- Beijing, China
- Cairo, Egypt
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Moscow, Russia
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Mexico City, Mexico
- London, England
- Tokyo, Japan
- Miami, Florida
