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The many facets of the faucet

Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink. That is a stanza from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel T. Coleridge.
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Water, water, every where,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink.

That is a stanza from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel T. Coleridge. The poor mariner lies in the middle of an ocean of water but none of it is fit for human consumption. While drinking a small dose of salt water, such as the mouth full that one might get while swimming at the beach, is not deadly, large or protracted doses of salt water eventually damage the kidneys and will eventually lead to death.

This is unfortunate as the vast majority of the world's water resides in the oceans. Fully 97 per cent of available water is salty and unfit for consumption without desalination. Of the remaining 3 per cent, three quarters of it is tied up in ice - in glaciers, sea ice, and the Antarctic. This leaves only 0.75 per cent of the world's water as fresh water suitable for human consumption and of that, fully two thirds is deep ground water and presently unavailable. Yes, all of the lakes, rivers, and rain that we have make up only about 0.25 per cent of the world's water.

That should be enough if used wisely. Unfortunately, water is not always used wisely. And with the changing climate forced by excessive global warming, fresh water will increasingly become a global political issue. Water shortages induced by over consumption or by climatic conditions have already affected many cities around the globe. Droughts - whether natural or induced - wreak havoc on agriculture. Arguably, water will become one of the major trade commodities of the twenty first century.

Our personal need for water is second only to our need for air. Humans can live for a couple of weeks without food but only for a couple of days without water. But, ironically, with global shortages looming and much of the world's population living without access to decent water, we have become obsessed with the quality and purity of our water. The market for bottled water increases annually. It is now a multi-billion dollar industry with everyone from Perrier to Pepsi participating.

I say "ironically" for two reasons. The first reason is that if the price of gasoline - a non-renewable commodity - climbs by a penny or two, cries of rage are heard. Yet gasoline sells for about $1.10 per litre which is about half the price that is charged for bottled water. This is very strange considering that we are running out of fossil fuels at an alarming rate. Much faster than we are running out of accessible water in our part of the world.

However, this just demonstrates that water is already an expensive commodity. Bottled water is more "precious" than gasoline!

The second reason is that in Prince George, tap water drawn from the city water supply is lower in salt and mineral content and organic contaminants than most bottled waters. One brand I looked at recently listed dissolved minerals as 268 ppm. That's well over the tolerance limits for the city's water supply and well over any level that I would find acceptable for drinking. And, of course, the really scary part is that they didn't list what minerals made up that 268 ppm. Could be any number of ions or elements, including some that shouldn't be in drinking water.

All of this needs to be set against a back-drop of global water supply. Yes, we have enough for right now. But increasingly the aquifers that supply our groundwater are being drawn down and not replaced as rapidly. Climate change is impacting the snow fall and glacial sources of much of the world's water. It is just a matter of time before water resources are under strain and water security is the major issue in foreign policy. C.J. Vrsmarty et al have just published a paper in Nature (Sept. 30 issue) outlining the threats to water security and what the future might hold.

Water, water everywhere but not all of its fit for drinking. The battles over fresh water are just starting. But I would submit that freshness does not come in a bottle - at least not in Prince George.