Great turn out last night at the UBC Dialogues panel on the state of our water resources, featuring (from left to right on the photo) CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe, Vice Chair of the Canadian Water Network Margaret Catley-Carlson, UBC Geography Professor Simon Donner, filmmaker Damien Gillis and  UBC IRES Professor and EDGES member Leila Harris. The UBC Dialogues series, run by the UBC Alumni Centre, features the work of diverse members of the UBC community.

Yesterday’s event, titled “Water Worries: What is the state of our most valuable resource” opened up a conversation about the many challenges our water is facing, including climate change, unsustainable practices, growing extractive industries, etc., as well as the multifaceted nature of water itself. In her concluding remarks, Leila Harris reminded the audience that we need to think about water holistically as water plays a key role in all sectors of the economy as well as in people’s daily lives. Leila also highlighted the fact that access to water is highly inequitable – both in lesser developed contexts, but also in places like Canada. The panel also discussed the recent drought conditions in British Columbia as well the BC Water Sustainability Act. Simon Donner, for instance, commented on the fact the Vancouverites may need to get used to water restrictions in the summer as climate change alters the snow pack levels and peak flows in the province.