access

From Available to Accessible: how a water commons can shift the process

Water takings have been occurring for over 100 years, with the first bottling permit established in 1912. In recent decades a surge in demand has allowed for an expansion in commercial water extractions throughout Canada – specifically centered in Southern Ontario and British Columbia. 

Alongside this surge, the amount of water taken daily has also increased to a staggering rate at multiple plants; i.e. in 2011 Nestle applied for a permit to take 3.6 million litres per day for bottling purposes. This is nearly the size of 1.5 olympic-sized swimming pools of water being extracted everyday. 

Detroit Water Shutoffs Must End

Detroit’s emergency manager filed for bankruptcy in July 2013 to force creditors to negotiate a bankruptcy plan that would slash the city’s unwieldy debt. Last month, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit approved a plan that would over time give Detroit a chance to survive. Missing from the plan, however, is any mention of the disturbance and threat to the rights to water and health of Detroit’s poor caused by the abrupt shut off of their water service.

Ontario Shore Walkers Help Create Shoreline Walking Trail System

The Ontario Shorewalk Association joins the call for a “Right of Passage”, or public walking rights, on our Great Lakes Shoreline. This echoes similar efforts emerging elsewhere in the Lakes bio-region and is congruent with our understanding of these waters as a commons: owned by no one, cared for by all.