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Regulatory framework
Act for the management of Canada's water resources, including research and the planning and implementation of programs relating to the conservation, development and utilization of water resources.
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Law relating to the construction, operation and maintenance of international river improvements.
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Law on the prevention of pollution and the protection of the environment and human health to contribute to sustainable development.
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National program to reduce flood damage by mapping flood zones and promoting land use control within these mapped areas. This involved the mapping of more than 900 communities and the designation of 320 flood risk areas.
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Institutional Framework
Improve freshwater management in Canada through leadership, effective collaboration at the federal level and improved coordination and collaboration with provinces, territories and Indigenous peoples to proactively address national and regional transboundary challenges and opportunities in terms of fresh water.
The Canadian Water Network is an independent, not-for-profit organization whose goal is to bring communities closer to the future they want by accelerating, advancing and improving water management decisions.
The CWWA is a national not-for-profit body that represents the common interests of Canada's public sector municipal water and wastewater utilities and their private sector suppliers and partners. The CWWA is recognized by the federal government and national agencies as the national voice of this public service sector.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is the federal department responsible for a wide range of environmental issues. The department addresses these issues through various actions, such as the implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework for Clean Growth and Climate Change; collaboration with our strategic partners, including provinces, territories and indigenous peoples; surveillance; scientific research; the development of policies and regulations; and the application of environmental legislation.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada leads the growth and development of a competitive, innovative and sustainable Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector.
Canada's freshwater can be found in the form of rivers, lakes, groundwater, ice and snow. Considering that, on an annual average, Canadian rivers discharge about 7% of the world's renewable water supply, Canada appears to have a generous water endowment.Some areas in the interior of British Columbia, the southern prairies and the high Arctic experience arid or semi-arid climates (less than 35 centimeters of annual precipitation). In these areas, water supplies are even more limited because groundwater tends to be salty and unsuitable for many uses.Approximately 60% of Canada's freshwater drains northward, while 85% of the population lives within 300 kilometers of the Canada-U.S. border.
Canada
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Many areas have restricted water supplies and water availability is a major concern for water management. Even in the Great Lakes basin, the world's largest freshwater lake system, some areas near the lakes in southern Ontario experience periodic and even chronic water shortages, and groundwater “mining” occurs. In many of the country's populated areas, water is extremely polluted and is either unfit for human, animal and industrial use or can only be used at relatively high treatment cost.