watermatters

March 2009

• Asbestos in Drinking Water

  Monday, March 30th, 2009

  During the 1960’s and 70’s it was common practice in North America to use asbestos/cement pipe for city water mains as an alternative to metal pipe, which is easily corroded by acidic water. However, it turns out that asbestos/cement pipe doesn’t stand up well over time and much of it has since been, or is being, replaced.

  The Metro Vancouver Water District supplies water to 18 municipalities in the Greater Vancouver area. It tests for the presence of asbestos in our source water that comes from snow melt and rain runoff collected in the Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam reservoirs. This water is then purchased by member municipalities that construct and maintain the piping system that delivers water to your tap.

  Although the City of Vancouver’s Water Design Branch says there is “no known asbestos pipe in our (Vancouver’s) water system”, other municipalities within Metro Vancouver may still be supplying some water through asbestos/cement pipe.

  Metro Vancouver municipalities do not test for the presence of asbestos in our water supply because Health Canada has deemed asbestos fibres safe for ingestion, despite the fact that the inhalation of these fibres is known to be highly carcenogenic. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency takes a more cautious position.

  For those of us who do not share this confidence in the credulity of Health Canada, there are affordable water treatment systems certified for asbestos reduction.

  NSF International lists cancer as a potential health effect of ingesting water containing asbestos fibres. According to a source at their Drinking Water Treatment Unit, “asbestos fibers are at least 10 microns in length, and are typically approximately 3 microns in diameter”. Consequently, a drinking water filter with an absolute micron size of one (1), or smaller, should intercept any asbestos fibres in your water supply.

  Posted in Vancouver Water, Water and Health, Water Treatment Guide

• BLUE GOLD: World Water Wars

  Monday, March 23rd, 2009

  Projecting Change Film Festival presents

  BLUE GOLD: WORLD WATER WARS
  Saturday April 4
  9:15pm
  Fifth Avenue Theatre
  (Burrard & 5th Ave, in Vancouver)

  

  BLUE GOLD is an excellent film about the catastrophic brink at which we stand globally regarding water.

  The film makes clear that in every corner of the globe, we are polluting, diverting, pumping, and wasting our limited supply of fresh water at an exponential rate as population and technology grows. The rampant over development of agriculture, housing and industry increase the demands for fresh water well beyond the finite supply, resulting in the desertification of our earth. A line is being crossed as water becomes a commodity.

  BLUE GOLD follows numerous worldwide examples of people fighting for their basic right to water, a phenomenon that is fast approaching us right here in British Columbia.

  Watch the Trailer

  Buy tickets: $10

  This screening will be followed by guest speakers (including watermatters’ CEO, Mary Johnston) discussing the future of water in BC and what you can do to protect it.

  Posted in News & Initiatives, The Future of Water

• 10,000 Voices for BC Rivers – Thursday, March 26th

  Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

  On Thursday, March 26 join thousands of British Columbians in standing up for BC’s rivers. On that day, thousands of people from around the province will be contacting their MLA and the Premier calling for a moratorium on river privatization for private power projects.

  The Wilderness Committee launched the 10,000 Voices for BC Rivers day of action to call for a moratorium on private river power projects until they are:
  •    regionally planned
  •    environmentally appropriate
  •    acceptable to First Nations
  •    publicly owned

  The BC government’s 2002 energy plan prevents BC Hydro from developing new sources of power, stating that all new power must come from private companies. This has lead to a gold rush mentality, with private operators applying for licenses to almost 600 creeks and rivers throughout BC. Each power project that is developed would involve the construction of dams, river diversions, powerhouses and many kilometers of roads and transmission lines.

  The BC government’s rush to develop private power without a comprehensive plan has resulted in a chaotic situation where cumulative environmental impacts are ignored, regional planning is non-existent, our energy security is jeopardized and local governments have been silenced.

  As a result, thousands of people have taken action in defense of their rivers and streams throughout British Columbia.

  Now it’s time for all of us to speak up together! On March 26th call Premier Gordon Campbell and your MLA.

  Premier Gordon Campbell
  250.387.1715 or 604.660.3202
  premier@gov.bc.ca

  Sign up for the 10,000 Voices for BC Rivers mailing list for a reminder leading up to March 26th to take action.

  For 10,000 Voices flyers, an action kit for holding a small event, or more information email andrew@wildernesscommittee.org or call toll-free 1.800.661.9453.

  Posted in News & Initiatives, The Future of Water

• Water Filters, Water Bottles & Alkaline Water – Vancouver’s Best

  Thursday, March 19th, 2009

  watermatters newly updated website is your one-of-kind source for home water filtration products, the newest and best of BPA-free water bottles, options for making alkaline water and drinking water filters suited for Vancouver, BC.

  Water purification is now a growing concern in the public’s mind as the media increasingly feature headlines about BPA in bottled water and pharmaceuticals in drinking water. Home water filters can provide safe drinking water (for as little as 35¢ per day) without the negative environmental impacts of bottled water or exposure to plastic toxins like Bisphenol-A. However, choosing the right water filtration system, among a flood of water treatment options, can be a confusing task.

  From its Laurel Street store, located in the heart of Vancouver, watermatters cuts through the confusion with need-to-know facts about how to choose your water treatment system. Our refreshingly informative and health-oriented approach offers locally appropriate drinking water filters for apartments and home owners, including unparalleled stainless steel water filters by Multi-Pure®, outstanding shower filters and simple ways to make alkaline water without spending a fortune!

  And check out trendy insulated S’well bottles and the insulated glass THERM-O –a new generation of the purest BPA-free water bottles now available for the first time in Vancouver from watermatters.

  Posted in Vancouver Water, Water and Health

• World Water Day Events – March 22

  Friday, March 13th, 2009

  March 22 is World Water Day. The Water Team presents the Right to Water Film Festival in downtown Vancouver followed by a fundraiser at the Wired Monk Bistro in Kitsilano. Join us at these events on Sunday, March 22.

  Rapidly diminishing quality and availability of fresh water is now clearly the number one factor determining our future on this planet.

  Incredibly, the right to water (life itself) now hangs in the balance! With two thirds of the US experiencing permanent drought and the tar sands devastation of Alberta’s water,  catastrophic water shortages are close at hand, even here in apparently water-rich British Columbia. Soaring food prices are just one of the early indicators!

  As corporate take-over threatens limited water resources around the globe, local initiatives are increasing worldwide by people recognizing the urgent need to protect, sustain and maintain control of their local water supply.

  Water is a right of commons. Let’s keep it that way!

  Local initiatives for water justice are springing up and urgently needed right here in British Columbia.

  Although seemingly abundant, BC’s coveted public water resources are being rapidly and secretly expropriated for corporate and foreign interests. Our current provincial and federal governments are promoting this privatization of our most valuable public assets.

  The future well-being of all that lives in our world is dependent upon the health of our watersheds. As Harper and Campbell maneuver to dismantle the Navigable Waters Protection Act which has safeguarded our rivers, lakes and inlets since 1882, we clearly cannot count on current political leaders to act in our best interests.

  It is the power of you and I, individual citizens unified in small community groups, that can turn this tide by standing up and speaking out for our water resources.

  Learn more about what is happening to your water in British Columbia and what you can do about it.
  Save Our Rivers
  W.A.T.E.R.

  Posted in News & Initiatives, The Future of Water

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