Out of the Tap

Yesterday I attended (for the first time) a community workshop put on by the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance. When I got the invite through a friend on facebook my first thought was "That's odd.. why would THEY invite ME to a meeting about water? " Mine was a last minute decision to attend and I am sure glad I did. I was a little nervous however, wondering what kind of people attend these sort of things.

Water is a very complex issue I have learned. We all use it and we all expect it to be there when we need it. A banner at the event read " A healthy watershed provides the triple benefits of human, ecological and economic health" Once I considered those three things I realized that this goes way further than what my knowledge base was on the subject.

After some brain storming of challenges that we face in regards to water the group of 70 or 80 that were in attendance broke up into smaller groups to brainstorm further. I joined the Agriculture, Forestry and Oil & Gas group. In my past I have lived and worked on a farm, worked for a pulp mill (my dad is also a forester) and we benefit through my husbands job in the oil and gas sector. So although I am not an expert in any of these areas I felt I could relate better to this group then the others.

Here are a few common threads that came out of this workshop

1. Decisions today are being made based on 30 year old data. New data is required to manage our watershed.
2. Guidelines for conservation need to be the same for everyone (urban, rural, industry)
3. We need to stop finger pointing, blaming and deflecting who's responsible for use and pollution and begin to work together (individuals, corporations and governments) to implement solutions.


One thing that came through loud and clear is that people are tired of attending community workshops and public consultations with predetermined outcomes that they feel end up going no where. The best case scenario is that the end report will go forward as suggestions to our government but unfortunately they are under no obligation to read, listen or even begin to make changes. I can appreciate the frustration of those in attendance. Nothing is worse than sharing input, only feel that it is being heard by def ears.

I have to believe that by donating my time to this and other initiatives that ask for public input that some how, someway, I am making a difference to my community.

Thanks for the invite Rene. You have opened my eyes to this complex thing we call water.