Water

I have a vision for the future where water is valued properly and people are able to enjoy unpolluted waterways. Everybody should be conscious about their water usage and municipalities can help its citizens achieve this by, i) increasing public awareness about the importance of conserving water; and ii) attaching a higher price to water that is not for essential life purposes. The first 60L or so should be free and anything above that can be charged. Reuse of grey water for public green spaces or private gardens should be required. Agriculture should take place where water is more readily available. Municipalities everywhere must take stronger action by implementing solutions that work for their specific situations before it is too late.

For Metro Vancouver specifically, I would like to see municipalities upgrade current wastewater treatment facilities to tertiary treatment. Most are primary or secondary treatment plants which remove most suspended solids and organic material before they are dumped into the Fraser River or Burrard Inlet. By upgrading to tertiary treatment facilities, our wastewater would be clean enough to drink and super safe to release back into the water. We would have clean waterways that we can enjoy in the summer without risk of E.coli advisories or infections. The biodiversity would return, especially in areas like False Creek. I believe construction has started on a new tertiary wastewater facility in the North Shore, which is good news! This would satisfy my vision where everybody can enjoy unpolluted waterways safely.