Water Stewardship Information Sources
| Citation | Expert Panel on Groundwater. 2009. The Sustainable Management of Groundwater in Canada. Council of Canadian Academies. |
|---|---|
| Organization | Council of Canadian Academies |
| URL | http://www.scienceadvice.ca/en/assessments/completed/groundwater.aspx |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | In September 2006, the federal government, through Natural Resources Canada, asked the Council of Canadian Academies to appoint an expert panel to answer the question “What is needed to achieve sustainable management of Canada’s groundwater resources, from a science perspective?” The charge to the panel was further specified in a series of sub-questions: • What current knowledge gaps limit our ability to evaluate the quantity of the resource, its locations and the uncertainties associated with these evaluations? • What do we need to understand in order to protect the quality of groundwater supply – for health protection and safeguarding other uses? • For groundwater supply and quality monitoring purposes, what techniques and information are needed? What is the current state of the art and state of practice, and what needs to be developed in Canada? • What other scientific and socio-economic knowledge is needed to sustainably manage aquifers in Canada and aquifers shared with the United States? The Council assembled a diverse group of leaders in the science of groundwater, as well as experts in the sociological, economic and legal aspects surrounding sustainable groundwater management. The panel met numerous times over the past seventeen months to consider the existing body of literature in order to answer the above questions. In addition, the panel initiated a call for evidence in July 2007 that solicited the input of a wide variety of stakeholder groups. The panel reviewed the results of this consultation and incorporated that information into its deliberations and conclusions. A compilation of these responses is presented in Appendix 2 of this report. The report is organised as follows. Chapter 1 provides context, beginning with some highlights of the importance and value of groundwater in Canada, as well as some basic facts about groundwater, presented from the perspective of the charge to the panel. Chapter 2 examines the concept of sustainable management of groundwater based on the five goals identified by the panel. These goals lay out sustainability considerations relative to quantity, quality, ecosystem support, socioeconomic benefit, and good governance. Chapter 3 highlights a number of trends and emerging critical issues for groundwater, and thus establishes an agenda of challenges that are urgently in need of management based on sustainability principles. In Chapter 4, the goals presented in Chapter 2 are used as an analytical construct to identify the science and engineering needed to underpin sustainable groundwater management. Particular emphasis is placed on the data and knowledge required for effective decision-making. Chapter 5 then addresses groundwater management and decision-making in Canada — encompassing jurisdiction, policy and regulation, and economic instruments — in order to assess the degree to which the current governance of groundwater reflects principles of sustainability. Chapter 6 presents a number of case studies to test and illustrate the goals of sustainable groundwater management in concrete, practical circumstances. The report concludes, in Chapter 7, with an overview of the key findings from this report and a summary response to the questions posed in the original charge to the panel. Supplementary material is provided in three appendices. Appendix 1 provides the reader with a primer on the basics of groundwater science; Appendix 2 documents the highlights from the Public Call for Evidence; and Appendix 3 is a compilation of excerpts of recommendations from major reports in Canada on the subject of groundwater. |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Province |
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| Comments | |
| Project status | complete |
| Contact Name | |
| Contact Email | [email protected] |