The Water We Drink

Each day, we need to replenish our bodies with about 2.5 litres of water. Clean water is vital for irrigating food crops, fish habitat, washing, cooking and a myriad of other functions.

Yet water can also be a source of exposure to pathogens and chemical, physical and radiological contaminants. That’s what makes protection of our water so important.

Canada’s federal government plays a vital role in establishing the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. But it is letting us down.

While Canada is blessed with a great abundance of fresh water, we are not living up to other countries when it comes to protecting our water sources from pollutants.

The David Suzuki Foundation has prepared a report, The Water We Drink that compares the voluntary Canadian guidelines with those of the U.S., the European Union, and Australia, as well as guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization. In particular, Canada’s continued reliance on voluntary national guidelines puts us behind the U.S. and the E.U.

By taking stronger steps to ensure safe drinking water, the federal government could prevent unnecessary deaths and illnesses, reduce health care expenses and productivity losses, and improve Canadians’ quality of life.

Based on the findings in this report, the David Suzuki Foundation offers nine recommendations to improve federal policy on drinking water quality.

Download the full report: English(1000KB)    French(2000KB)
or the executive summary: English(473KB)    French(515KB)