I am privileged to be asked to serve as the keynote speaker for Canada’s 9th Annual Water Summit, but the honor is mine. This is an opportunity for me to learn. It is only fitting to begin my journey into Canada’s water resources at Canada’s 9th Annual Water Summit in Vancouver. Hundreds of policymakers, engineers and students gathered to plot the future course of sanitation, supply, and protection. The conference was opened by First Nation’s representations who offered a special prayer in addition to highlighting issues faced by their communities across the country. It is embarrassing to note how compromised the…
Detroit’s Water War: a tap shut-off that could impact 300,000 people The Detroit Water Department’s needs to recoup millions of dollars to support the water utility, so they are going after the easiest targets – families. Meanwhile, Detroit’s high-end golf club, the Red Wing’s hockey arena, the Ford football stadium, and more than half of the city’s commercial and industrial users are also behind in their bills, owing a sum totalling $30 million. But no contractors have showed up on their doorstep to shut off their water. Guardian journalist Michael Lukacs tells a gut wrenching story about how people’s lives are…
When Water Bills Aren’t Paid The future is being played out in Detroit right now. Half of the citizens of this once great city are unable to pay their water bills and advocates have applied to the United Nations for help. CBS Detroit describes the growing problem. Water and basic sanitation need to be considered basic human rights. This debate has been waged over and over in the halls of the UN. Last year a resolution was passed declaring water as a human right, but the United States failed to sign the treaty. When citizens of the world are unable to access basic water…