Water availability in Canada
In 2009, there was a high threat to water availability in portions of southern Ontario, southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, southwestern Manitoba, and the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. A high threat to water availability means that more than 40% of the water in rivers was withdrawn for human use. The threat was moderate to medium in portions of southern Alberta and southwestern Manitoba, where between 10 and 40% of water in rivers was withdrawn for human use. The threat to water availability was low across the rest of Canada, as less than 10% of water in rivers in those areas was withdrawn for human use.
Threats to water availability in Canada, 2009
Long description
The map shows the threat level to water availability in each of Canada's 164 sub-drainage areas in 2009.
Data for this chart
| Sub-drainage area groupings | Sub-drainage area names | Threat to water availability |
|---|---|---|
| 10N-10O-10P-10Q-10R-10S-10T-10U-10V | Merged (Southern Beaufort Sea, Amundsen Gulf, Coppermine, Coronation Gulf and Queen Maud Gulf, Back, Gulf of Boothia, Southern Arctic Islands, Baffin Island, Arctic drainage, Northern Arctic Islands) | Data not available |
| 07L-07M-07N-07O-07P-07Q-07R-07S-07T-07U-10A-10B-10C-10D-10E-10F-10G-10H-10J-10K-10L-10M | Merged (Fond-du-Lac, Lake Athabasca - shores, Slave, Hay, Southern Great Slave Lake, Great Slave Lake - east arm - south shore, Lockhart, Northeastern Great Slave Lake, Marian, Western Great Slave Lake, Upper Liard, Central Liard, Fort Nelson, Central Liard and Petitot, Lower Liard, Upper Mackenzie - Mills Lake, Upper Mackenzie - Camsell Bend, Central Mackenzie - Blackwater Lake, Great Bear, Central Mackenzie - The Ramparts, Lower Mackenzie, Peel and Southwestern Beaufort Sea) | Low |
| 04A-04B-04C-04D-04E-04F-04G-04H-04J-04K-04L-04M | Merged (Hayes - Manitoba, Southwestern Hudson Bay, Severn, Winisk - coast, Ekwan - coast, Attawapiskat - coast, Upper Albany, Lower Albany - coast, Kenogami, Moose - Ontario, Missinaibi-Mattagami, Abitibi) | Low |
| 03A-03B-03C-03D-03E-03F-03G-03H-03J-03K-03L-03M-04N | Merged (Nottaway - coast, Broadback and Rupert, Eastmain, La Grande - coast, Grande rivière de la Baleine - coast, Eastern Hudson Bay, Northeastern Hudson Bay, Western Ungava Bay, Aux Feuilles - coast, Koksoak, Caniapiscau, Eastern Ungava Bay, Harricanaw - coast) | Data not available |
| 02S-02T-02U-02V-02W-02X | Merged (Betsiamites - coast, Manicouagan and aux Outardes, Moisie and St. Lawrence Estuary, Gulf of St. Lawrence - Romaine, Gulf of St. Lawrence - Natashquan, Petit Mécatina and Strait of Belle Isle) | Low |
| 08NM | OkanaganFootnote [A] | High |
| 06G-06H-06J-06K-06L-06M-06N-06O-06P-06Q-06R-06S-06T | Merged (Seal - coast, Western Hudson Bay - southern, Thelon, Dubawnt, Kazan, Chesterfield Inlet, Western Hudson Bay - central, Western Hudson Bay - northern, Hudson Bay - Southampton Island, Foxe Basin - Southampton Island, Foxe Basin - Melville Peninsula, Foxe Basin - Baffin Island, Hudson Strait - Baffin and Southampton Islands) | Low |
| 09A-09B-09C-09D-09E-09F-09H-09M | Merged (Headwaters Yukon, Pelly, Upper Yukon, Stewart, Central Yukon, Porcupine, Tanana, Copper) | Low |
| 08A-08B-08C-08D-08E-08O | Merged (Alsek, Northern coastal waters of British Columbia, Stikine - coast, Nass - coast, Skeena - coast, Queen Charlotte Islands) | Low |
| 06A-06B-06C-06D-06E-06F | Merged (Beaver - Alberta and Saskatchewan, Upper Churchill - Manitoba, Central Churchill - upper - Manitoba, Reindeer, Central Churchill - lower - Manitoba, Lower Churchill - Manitoba) | Low |
| 03N-03O-03P-03Q | Merged (Northern Labrador, Churchill - Newfoundland and Labrador, Central Labrador, Southern Labrador) | Low |
| 07K | Lower Peace | Low |
| 07E | Williston Lake | Low |
| 07F | Upper Peace | Low |
| 07H | Central Peace, upper | Low |
| 07J | Central Peace, lower | Low |
| 08J | Nechako | Low |
| 07D | Lower Athabasca | Low |
| 08F | Central coastal waters of British Columbia | Low |
| 07C | Central Athabasca, lower | Low |
| 07G | Smoky | Low |
| 08K | Upper Fraser | Low |
| 07A | Upper Athabasca | Low |
| 02Y | Northern Newfoundland | Low |
| 07B | Central Athabasca, upper | Low |
| 05T | Grass and Burntwood | Low |
| 05E | Central North Saskatchewan | Low |
| 02Z | Southern Newfoundland | Low |
| 05D | Upper North Saskatchewan | Low |
| 05F | Battle | High |
| 05U | Nelson | Low |
| 05G | Lower North Saskatchewan | Low |
| 08G | Southern coastal waters of British Columbia | Low |
| 05K | Saskatchewan | Low |
| 08L | Thompson | Low |
| 08M | Lower Fraser | Low |
| 08H | Vancouver Island | Low |
| 08P | Skagit | Low |
| 05B | Bow | Medium |
| 05C | Red Deer | Medium |
| 01F | Cape Breton Island | Low |
| 02Q | Northern Gaspé Peninsula | Low |
| 01C | Prince Edward Island | Low |
| 02R | Saguenay | Low |
| 05R | Eastern Lake Winnipeg | Low |
| 08N | Columbia | Low |
| 05H | Lower South Saskatchewan | Low |
| 05L | Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Manitoba | Low |
| 05A | Upper South Saskatchewan | Medium |
| 05S | Western Lake Winnipeg | Low |
| 05J | Qu'Appelle | High |
| 05Q | English | Low |
| 05N | Souris | High |
| 05M | Assiniboine | Moderate |
| 01B | Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northern Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick | Low |
| 11A | Missouri | High |
| 02N | Saint-Maurice | Low |
| 02P | Lower St. Lawrence | Low |
| 05O | Red | Low |
| 01A | Saint John and Southern Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick | Low |
| 01D | Bay of Fundy and Gulf of St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia | Low |
| 02J | Upper Ottawa | Low |
| 05P | Winnipeg | Low |
| 01E | Southeastern Atlantic Ocean, Nova Scotia | Low |
| 02A | Northwestern Lake Superior | Low |
| 02O | Central St. Lawrence | Low |
| 02L | Lower Ottawa | Low |
| 02K | Central Ottawa | Low |
| 02B | Northeastern Lake Superior | Low |
| 02D | Wanipitai and French, Ontario | Low |
| 02C | Northern Lake Huron | Low |
| 02M | Upper St. Lawrence | Low |
| 02E | Eastern Georgian Bay | Low |
| 02F | Eastern Lake Huron | High |
| 02H | Lake Ontario and Niagara Peninsula | High |
| 02G | Northern Lake Erie | Medium |
Note: The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) Water Availability Indicator aggregates sub-drainage areas, as defined by the Standard Drainage Area Classification developed by Statistics Canada, into the following 76 groupings.
Download data file (Excel/CSV; 5.87 KB)
How this indicator was calculated
Note: The indicator is calculated by dividing water demand by water supply for each of Canada's 164 sub-drainage areas. The indicator does not include water withdrawn from lakes and groundwater. There are not enough data available to describe water availability in northern Quebec. The method used to calculate the Water Availability Indicator does not apply to northern Canada.
Source: Environment Canada (2012) Water Survey of Canada. Environment Canada (2011) Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey 2009. Statistics Canada (2012) Industrial Water Use Survey 2009. Statistics Canada (2011) Agricultural Water Use Survey 2010.
Having a safe and reliable freshwater supply is important to maintaining human, plant and animal populations; supporting economic development; and preserving healthy lakes and rivers. While Canada is a water-rich country, human pressure on the water supply is not necessarily applied in areas where water is abundant. For example, approximately 85% of Canadians live within 300 kilometres of the Canada-United States border, while 60% of Canada's freshwater flows north into the Arctic Ocean.Footnote [1] Water availability is an estimate of how human activity is changing the water supply. It indicates where water may become scarce in the future, especially in areas where water supplies are naturally low. Together, urban growth, expanding industrial activity, increasing food production by farms and changing weather patterns are placing increasing pressure on Canada's freshwater supply.
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