BY MIKE DE SOUZA, POSTMEDIA NEWS NOVEMBER 17, 2011 4:10 AM

OTTAWA- The time has come to map out a detailed inventory of Canada's water resources, along with a plan to make industrial consumers pay for every litre they use, says a report released Thursday by a federal advisory panel.

The study, entitled Charting a Course: Sustainable water use by Canada's natural resource sectors, highlights modest growth in Canada's water consumption in recent years.

But it notes that while companies are already starting to improve their efficiency, businesses in some regions, particularly in the agriculture and oil and gas industries, face an emerging problem.
"Even though our scenario analysis reveals a potentially small overall increase in water intake on a national basis, the result masks some regional challenges," says the analysis, which was prepared by a team of researchers at the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, led by senior policy adviser Jill Baker.

"Nowhere is this more apparent than in areas with regional concentrations in oil and gas and agriculture. Further analysis on a regional and sectoral basis is required to improve our understanding of where water demands are likely to increase substantially with economic growth."

The panel, appointed by the federal government to provide advice on environmental and economic issues, said that industry accounts for about 86 per cent of Canada's water consumption but faces minimal costs or licensing fees.

However, the analysis concluded regional governments could substantially reduce water consumption, in some cases by up to 20 per cent, by charging modest fees of less than $0.10 per thousand litres of water consumed.

The report also noted that other factors, such as climate change, threaten water availability in some regions. It suggested such threats increase the importance of conservation.

"We're looking ahead," said David McLaughlin, president and CEO of the round table, in an interview. "We want to get in front of something before it becomes a potential crisis."

McLaughlin, who was appointed by the government to the round table in 2007 after he had served as chief of staff to federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, explained the recommendations also make good economic sense.
"We all know this is about preserving Canada's competitive advantage with water," McLaughlin said.

"We have an abundance of water and we don't want to take it for granted. It's an economic advantage as well as an environmental necessity, and so this is one way to address it with our biggest water users."

The round table said the federal government could have a role in gathering detailed data and information about water resources, while provincial or local governments could tackle management of its consumption by industry.

The study also follows an earlier report from the roundtable that warned Canada could face long-term challenges unless it improves its management of water resources.
Mark Parent, a former environment minister from Nova Scotia who is vice-chairman of the round table, noted that industrial sectors, such as mining, also recognize the importance of water conservation to protect their bottom line.

"In mining, they have to have water," Parent said. "Some of them have to have vast quantities of water or they have no business."
McLauglin added the ultimate objective was not to raise money or inflict economic costs, but rather to conserve water.

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