Reid Kreutzwiser

Adaptation options for the near term: climate change and the Canadian water sector

Abstract Climate change poses significant challenges for the Canadian water sector. This paper discusses issues relating to the selection of proactive, planned adaptation measures for the near term (next decade). A set of selection criteria is offered, and these are used in three cases to illustrate how stakeholders can identify measures appropriate for the near term. Cases include municipal water supply in the Grand River basin, Ontario; irrigation in southern Alberta; and commercial navigation on the Great Lakes. In all three cases, it is possible to identify adaptations to climate change that also represent appropriate responses to existing conditions; these should be pursued first.

Understanding stewardship behaviour: Factors facilitating and constraining private water well stewardship

Regulatory frameworks to ensure municipal drinking water safety exist in most North American jurisdictions. However, similar protection is rarely provided to people reliant on water provided from private wells. In Canada, approximately 4 million people depend on privately owned, domestic wells for their drinking water. Numerous studies have shown that people who rely on private wells for their water supplies are at risk from nitrate and bacterial contamination. Given the fact that regulations relating to private wells tend to be weak or poorly enforced, actions taken by well owners to protect their own drinking water safety are extremely important. Drawing on one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys of private well owners ever conducted in Canada or elsewhere, this paper explores factors that influence well owner stewardship behaviour. Key behaviours examined included annual testing of well water and inspection of wells, measures to protect water quality, and proper decommissioning of unused wells. A geographically-stratified survey, sent to 4950 well owners in Ontario, Canada, resulted in an effective response rate of 34% (n = 1567). Logistic regression analyses revealed that motivations for well stewardship behaviours included reassurance, the perception of problems, and knowledge of the environment. Knowing how to perform stewardship behaviours was an important antecedent to action. Barriers to stewardship included complacency, inconvenience, ignorance, cost, and privacy concerns. To promote stewardship, local initiatives, better educational materials, and enforcement through real estate laws are all required. Ultimately, drinking water safety for people reliant on private wells is shown to be a responsibility shared by governments and private well owners.

Climate Variability, Climate Change and Water Resource Management in the Great Lakes

Water managers always have had to cope with climate variability. All water management practices are, to some extent, a response to natural hydrologic variability. Climate change poses a different kind of problem. Adaptation to climate change in water resource management will involve using the kinds of practices and activities currently being used. However, it remains unclear whether or not practices and activities designed with historical climate variability will be able to cope with future variability caused by atmospheric warming. This paper examines the question of adaptation to climate change in the context of Canadian water resources management, emphasizing issues in the context of the Great Lakes, an important binational water resource.

Appropriate Public Involvement in Local Environmental Governance: A Framework and Case Study

Public participation involving local people has become a basic principle of contemporary environmental governance. However, the extent to which members of the public are interested in, and capable of, being involved effectively in governance varies widely, and often is not addressed satisfactorily. Context is a key determinant of the appropriate degree of public involvement, but contextual factors that determine an appropriate degree of public involvement are not well specified. This article presents a framework that can be used to assess public involvement in local environmental governance. Five characteristics shape the appropriate degree of public involvement. The framework is used in a critical assessment of a process used to develop a water sharing plan for the Hunter River Catchment, Australia.

Agricultural Water Use in Ontario

Agricultural water use is an important component of total water use in Ontario. While the amount of water withdrawn for agricultural use is considerably lower than for municipalities and thermal power generation, agricultural water consumption is exceeded only by consumption in the municipal and manufacturing sectors. Using 1996 Census of Agriculture data, this paper updates the estimates of agricultural water use created for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food by Ecologistics Limited in 1993. In 1996, all agricultural sectors in Ontario were estimated to use 173.2 million m3. Spatial patterns of water use for southern Ontario, where most agriculture occurs, are mapped for water use for all sectors; for five major subcategories: livestock, fruit, vegetable, field and speciality crops; and for irrigation. Significant variation occurs: e.g., most agricultural water use is concentrated in the southwestern region where water demand from municipalities, golf courses, and other water users is high. Future water allocation decisions must take account of the distribution of agricultural water withdrawals, especially those for irrigation, which are strongly seasonal.

Drought Contingency Planning and Implementation at the Local Level in Ontario

Responsibilities for water management in Ontario are shared among the federal, provincial and local levels of government. Recently, the local level (which includes municipalities and conservation authorities) has been assigned significantly more responsibilities. For example, the provincial government’s Ontario Low Water Response plan (OLWR) assigns key responsibilities to municipalities and conservation authorities. However, it is not clear that all local level agencies are capable of assuming these greater responsibilities. This paper reports findings from a study that used the community capacity literature to evaluate the role of the local level in drought contingency planning and implementation in two Ontario watersheds. The Big Creek watershed is dominated by agriculture, while the upper Credit River watershed faces great pressure from urban development. Both watersheds are dependent upon groundwater and have experienced reduced water supply during recent drought episodes. Based on an investigation into the roles, responsibilities and communication patterns among government agencies and non-government organizations in each watershed, it was concluded that watershed communities do have the capacity to create and implement a drought contingency plan. However, they require considerable assistance from the provincial government, especially in terms of regulating water withdrawals during periods of drought.

Factors influencing integrated forest management on private industrial forest land

Abstract This paper examines the nature and extent of integrated forest management (IFM) on private industrial forest land in the United States and identifies factors facilitating and constraining adoption of IFM. Through a questionnaire survey, 97 timber companies provided information on their forest management practices, non-timber land uses and attitudes towards IFM. Companies varied in their adoption of IFM practices, but most protected non-timber values to some extent, frequently modifying cutting practices particularly near water. Over half the companies had specific wildlife management programs and a quarter provided recreation facilities or land exclusively for recreation. Factors examined did not explain a large proportion of the variation in adoption of IFM practices. Size of company landholding and state IFM policies had the strongest influence on IFM. Size of the company (sales) and state land tenure patterns appeared to alter perceptions of companies about the benefits and costs of IFM but had little direct influence on IFM.

The Economic Significance of the Long Point Marsh, Lake Erie, as a Recreational Resource

Abstract Recreation competes with agricultural, residential, and other uses of wetlands and decisions regarding wetland use invariably have been made in the absence of information on the economic significance of wetland recreation. During 1978, data to assess the economic significance of wetlands for recreation were obtained from 703 users of public marsh at Long Point and Point Pelee on the north shore of Lake Erie. The Long Point marsh provided various recreational opportunities including nature viewing, fishing, and waterfowl hunting for over 17,000 users. It is estimated conservatively that these users placed a willingness to pay (consumer surplus) value on the recreation derived of over

Municipal Land Use Regulation and the Great Lakes Shoreline Hazard in Ontario

213,000 and generated directly and indirectly some

Ontario's Great Lakes Flood History

225,000 in local spending on travel, food, accommodation, and other items. The Point Pelee experience demonstrates opportunities for enhancing the recreational and educational value of the Long Point marsh.