Water: The Most Fundamental ResourceLauren FleshnerCGC-1D 08Mr. Paul11 April 2014 Water: the most basic resourceCan Canada manage the amount of water it has responsibly? Water in Canada is taken for granted, as the country is the second largest user of water in the world. (Clark, 2006, p.477) But Canada is very fortunate to have access to large quantities of water. Our social, personal and economic lives largely depend on water. (Clark, 2006, p.478) Canada has many water resources. These water resources consist of lakes, wetlands, rivers, drainage bases and groundwater. (Clark, 2006, p.478) Canada's lakes and wetlands occupy approximately 20% of Canada's area. (Clark, 2006, p. 478) Canada has very easy access to this water mainly because when the glaciers melted, most of the water turned into our lakes. 99% of the water still remains from the glacial periods. (Clark, 2006, p.478) “Wetlands are areas of land that have become saturated with water.” (Clark, 2006, p.479) Wetlands cover approximately 14% of the country. (Clark, 2006, p.479) Wetlands provide many habitats for wildlife. (Clark, 2006, p.479) Another source for Canada is watersheds. Drainage basins transfer all water to its destinations. (Pacific Ocean, Hudson Bay, Arctic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico) (Clark, 2006, p.479) To keep track, “discharge rates” are taken into account. A discharge rate is the “amount of water flowing through a drainage basin.” (Clark, 2006, p.479) Depending on the season, the amount of water may vary. (Clark, 2006, p.479) Another major source of water that Canada has is groundwater. “Groundwater is water found beneath the ground. Canada has approximately 20% of the world's groundwater." (Clark, 2006, p.478) Groundwater has a lot of... middle of paper... information about the problem. If Canada continues to preserve its wetlands, it will be beneficial to the country in the long run, as wetlands and aquifers are a huge source of Canada's fresh water. If Canada continues to pollute its lakes, there will be many more consequences in the future than today. Canada will have to spend more money to discover and create technology that can remove chemicals from lakes. If Canada had to pay more for water, that would be very beneficial in the long run. Potentially the extra money would go to the city and the population would pay more attention to water. Canada is very fortunate to have the amount of water at its disposal, but having such easy access to clean, affordable water comes with the responsibility Canadians must shoulder to prevent future problems with the most basic resource.