On November 26, a few days before the COP15 on biodiversity, it will be the 20e anniversary of the adoption of the National Water Policy. This policy should lead to a substantial improvement in water quality and allow us to sustain the use of our waterways.
To achieve this, it relied on seven principles, including sustainable and integrated water management by catchment area, a user-pays and polluter-pays approach for water use, the reconciliation of uses and the call for a collective commitment to the protection, restoration and development of water.
Twenty years later, where are we?
It is undeniable: the creation of 40 watershed organizations (OBV) which criss-cross the territory has made it possible to establish better sustainable and integrated water management. Their task is colossal; they must ensure that the rivers and their tributaries are protected through consultation approaches between all stakeholders and through various projects in the field. However, since they are underfunded and lack real decision-making powers, it is difficult for them to impose the priorities of their watersheds on municipalities, RCMs and the government, compromising the implementation of the master plans of the water they make.
The adoption of tougher laws for the protection of water, including the Law affirming the collective nature of water resources and aimed at strengthening their protection, is another progress resulting from the National Water Policy. However, we are slow to see the effects of these reinforcements on water protection.
The 2020 report on the state of water resources and aquatic ecosystems in Quebec indicates that several key indicators have deteriorated, that a large number of rivers are in poor condition, particularly in agricultural areas, that more than half of the species Native reptiles and amphibians are in a precarious situation and the overall naturalness of waterways is generally low.
On the principle of reconciling uses, the privatization of the banks makes the bodies of water less and less accessible to the general public. Owners living nearby are also suffering the repercussions of the exponential growth in the number and power of noisy motorboats. As for water withdrawals in the territory, the collection and sharing of data are still insufficient to prevent conflicts of use. Water shortages in southern Quebec are now recurrent in summer. We have even seen cases where farmers had to have water delivered to water their livestock, a phenomenon deemed unthinkable 20 years ago.
And now, what are the next steps?
The recently announced climate mobilization program recognizes the importance of citizen initiatives in the fight against climate change. It is high time for the State to recognize the importance of citizens’ initiatives for the protection of water as well. Citizens’ committees can play a key role in protecting water in Quebec. They alert, denounce, keep an eye on things and bring problems to light.
Twenty years… and so few results. A major project is needed to revive the vision of participatory democracy to face the new realities and challenges to come. A vision to be renewed not only by experts, elected officials and environmental groups, but also by representatives of civil society.
Can’t wait for a National Water Summit!