GEOG 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Fiat 500L, Escherichia Coli, Walkerton, Ontario
23 May 2018
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GEO203: Canadian Environmental Issues
Chapter 11: Water
Hydrological Cycle
▪ About 12% of Canada is covered by lakes and rivers (groundwater is their
key source)
▪ Various types of wetlands (all hybrid aquatic and terrestrial systems) cover
14% of Canada
▪ Canada ranks between 3rd and 6th in terms of renewable water supply
(RWS)
The James Bay Hydroelectric Project
▪ Governments and private corporations have pursued many megaprojects in
Canada to meet energy demands: virtually every region in the country has
experienced such megaprojects
▪ The James Bay Project in Quebec: hydroelectric megaproject in northern
Quebec that began in the 1970s involving extensive dams on La Grande and
other rivers and has flooded thousands of square kilometers of the James Bay
Cree homeland
Water Exports, Diversions and Other Options
▪ Scarcity of water in certain regions in the US
o Solution is to look to Canada as a source and to import water in
bottles, by ship or via pipeline
▪ Support: the export of water to the US is another resource with value
and can be exchanged on the open market
▪ Opposition: the scale of the proposed water diversion projects is much
larger than any previous project creating significant risks
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