In Toronto’s Inner Harbour, a turtle swims amidst an eddy full of untreated sewage and garbage. Further north on the Lake Simcoe beachside, yet another plastic water bottle has been tossed on the shore despite nearby bins and water fountains. Moving west to Alberta, smoky pink hues of wildfire plumes are reflected in the Bow River, hinting at water quality issues to come in the aftermath of scorched forests. In BC, a sunny-looking invasive plant is choking out native species in Seymour Lake.

What do these scenes have in common? These are the reports of people across Canada who used the hashtag #nofilterH2O this summer. The #nofilterH2O social media challenge was all about exposing the honest (if not always pretty) side of our beloved local waterways across the country.

This week in Ottawa, the House of Commons and the Upper Chamber (fancy speak for the Senate) resume sitting. So where does that leave us with environmental law reform?

Yesterday, elected municipal leaders across British Columbia voted in favour of a new Water Governance Model Resolution. This blog post provides more detail on that decision and what passing this resolution will mean for the rest of us.

NEWS RELEASE: New research shows majority of British Columbians bracing for future water crises

87% believe the province will face a serious problem if nothing is done to improve the management of water resources in BC

Released on the heels of record-setting wildfires, drought and floods, new opinion data shows that more than half of British Columbians worry about the potential for a major water crisis in their community.

Another 87% believe the province will face a serious problem if nothing is done to improve the management of water resources in BC, up from 76% in 2013, according to polling results released today by the Canadian Freshwater Alliance.

“British Columbians have endured consecutive water-related crises in recent months, from flooding to wildfires to droughts. This polling shows that people are bracing themselves for a worsening situation if the government doesn’t get proactive about defending our water and communities,” said Coree Tull, Organizing Director at the Canadian Freshwater Alliance.

Twenty-three BC communities were under a local state of emergency this spring due to floods. This summer also marked the worst fire season on record, prompting another state of emergency that was lifted on Friday. Despite brief rains over the weekend, nearly 90% of BC remains at stage 3 drought or higher. The province’s top water manager has described conditions in some parts of the province -- including Vancouver Island and the North -- as similar to 2015’s devastating province-wide drought. Meanwhile, a report released by the province in August shows 1 in 5 aquifers, a primary source of drinking water, are considered stressed.

Earlier this year, Our Water BC conducted a partner-wide survey to find out more about our shared water priorities, capacity challenges and opportunities for powering-up our network as a whole. The purpose of this survey was to help Our Water BC organizers determine the best way forward to support our partners to achieve our greatest potential collective impact (to protect freshwater in B.C.!). Thank you for your participation, and here's a very brief look at some of the results.