A group of Council of Canadians chapter activists in the Pacific region recently worked together to develop a survey on drinking water and watersheds, which we distributed to our supporters and allies in British Columbia. The survey offered us a chance to look beyond the headlines about the worsening water crisis and learn from the perspectives of people in communities around the province.
We were thrilled to receive a total of 1,846 responses to the survey. Among those respondents, a staggering 87% highlighted the protection of clean drinking water protection as one of the most pressing political issues of our time.
The survey results highlighted the uneven distribution of the drinking water crisis.
When asked about access to clean drinking water, a clear majority of respondents (61%) said they currently enjoy reliable access while 55% expressed concern about future threats to their water access. As many as 257 people responded that they have been able to reduce their household water consumption without any serious drawbacks, showing that a thoughtful approach to resource use need not come at the expense of quality of life.
However, 179 people responded that they have experienced negative personal impacts due to seasonal water restrictions, and significant numbers have either been involved in local conflicts over water use or faced a boil water advisory in the past five years. With the First Nations Health Authority reporting 29 active drinking water advisories across BC, it’s clear that Indigenous communities are bearing some of the worst impacts.
The survey also asked respondents to weigh in on what they perceive to be the greatest threats to drinking water in BC. The top concerns included climate change (67%), clearcut logging (62%), and fracking (60%).
When it comes to their local watershed, survey respondents saw the greatest threats as snowpack depletion (69%) and drought (62%). It’s worth noting that many of the options are interconnected; for example, corporate greed drives reckless industrial activities that harm watersheds and contribute to climate change.
On the all-important question of what is to be done, 77% agreed that the government needs to enact and enforce new regulations restricting industrial activities like logging and mining in watersheds. 64% want to see fracking phased out due to its negative impacts on both water and climate, and 62% advocate for a moratorium on bottled water extraction. Significant numbers of people want further reform of the commercial water licensing system and a public education campaign on the threats to clean drinking water.
Most encouragingly, 37 survey respondents indicated that they’d like to take a leadership role on water protection in their community, and several people let us know that they’re already longstanding water protectors. As many as 281 people would like to take part in demonstrations, canvassing or other in-person actions, while 1,086 are interested in online actions for water protection.
The survey results show that many people are eager to protect clean drinking water for future generations. As an organization with a long history of water activism, the Council of Canadians plans to build on these results and strengthen our BC water campaign over the coming months. We invite you to share these survey results with your networks and stay tuned for next steps.
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David Ravensbergen
David is the Pacific Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians.
