by Peter Speckner, Communications Coordinator

That’s right. March 22 is World Water Day, when the world gets together to celebrate one of the most important things to life on this planet. To find out more, check out the World Water Day website for Canada, proudly sponsored by RainBarrel.ca.

World Water Day was created in 1992 by the United Nations to celebrate freshwater. Each year, the theme for World Water Day focuses on a specific aspect of freshwater. This year’s theme is “Better Water, Better Jobs”, with its focus on how enough quantity and quality of water can enhance workers’ lives and livelihoods.

World Water Day Celebrations in Waterloo Region

Numerous organizations across Canada and Waterloo Region are also hosting their own events to celebrate the day. Here are a couple ways to mark the day:

• The Water Institute of the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier’s Institute for Water Science are hosting an event that includes a panel discussion, keynote address, buffet lunch and evening social at the Huether Hotel. Registration is suggested.
• Water Aid Canada is celebrating World Water Day by reminding everyone that people in the third world still do not have access to clean, drinkable water. They have the ambitious goal of making sure everyone, everywhere has clean water by 2030. They could use your help; check them out to find out how you can help.

Waterloo Region water stories

REEP Green Solutions is contributing to water education by providing information on water conservation, control and harvesting. The following articles are about the water-related problems members of our community have encountered and how they resolved them.

Managing stormwater at home

• Mary-Louise & Alain Design their Landscape – Mary-Louise and Alain had some serious stormwater problems at their home. During heavy rains and spring thaws water flowed from a high point in their back yard, over tight clay soils and into their basement. Their design engineered the solution.
• Catherine Fife, Ken & Elizabeth McLaughlin and their Shared Driveway – Catherine Fife, Ken & Elizabeth McLaughlin worked together to de-pave their adjoining driveways and replace them with permeable paving strips. See how they controlled the flow of water.
• Tim & Heidi’s Flooded Backyard – For years Tim and Heidi struggled to find a solution to their backyard flooding problems. Check out how they stopped the flooding.

There are more stories about local people who encountered water-related challenges you can read.

Managing stormwater at work

Companies and organizations can face their own water challenges. We’ve highlighted a few stories showing the creative solutions they chose when embarking on their own green journeys.

• Johnsonite (Canada) Inc.’s Self-Sustaining Prairie – Outside of their Waterloo factory there was an open field next to their parking lot. They saw more than just grass. “I’d love to see this field turned into a tall-grass prairie, a self-sustaining ecosystem.” Read on to find out how they created a natural greenspace.
• YMCA Ontario Early Years Centre’s Icy Patches – Each year, especially in the winter and spring, ice, snow and water would accumulate in the cracked depression between the parking lot and the wheelchair ramp at the front entrance. See how they improved safety and controlled water flow.
• Grand River Transit’s Award Winning Water Innovation -the GRT wanted to maximize their stormwater credit from the City of Kitchener.  Check out what they did to save $7000/year.

There are a few more case studies of the challenges that organizations have overcome. It’s very positive to see companies put the environment front and centre.

The Water Around Your Home

REEP would also encourage you to re-evaluate the storm water circumstances of your own homes, and how it might be made better to the benefit of everything and everyone around you. If you think there might be room for improvement, REEP will be more than happy to review your options with you. Check out our RAIN program as a helpful resource available to you.

Show some love for water!

We cannot stress enough, how important water is to the survival of everything on this planet. We hope you will take some time out of your day to participate in an event, share information about the importance of caring for water or taking action.

And then sit back and enjoy a glass of water, and appreciate how delicious it really is.

We’re talking water all through April

We have a full month of blog posts, case studies and other information about caring for water planned in April. Come back to learn more about caring for this precious, life-giving resource.