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The following article is from an archived newsletter. See our Shared Waters newsletter.

Tap Water Testing for World Water Day

IJC staff
IJC
Water Matters - Three glasses of water

Can you tell the difference between city water and bottled water?

A World Water Day event, where participants were challenged to identify and distinguish between Ottawa tap water and four different bottled waters, allowed people to determine if they could tell the difference. 

The IJC hosted the World Water Day event, featuring presentations and networking and water-tasting, on March 22 at our Canadian Section offices in Ottawa, Ontario.

The sold-out event, with more than 50 attendees, was organized by Blue Drinks Ottawa, a community organization that organizes networking and speaking events for people interested in water issues. 

Dr. Glenn Benoy, Canadian Section senior water quality and ecosystem adviser (foreground left), serves up water samples at the tasting event. Credit: IJC files
Dr. Glenn Benoy, Canadian Section senior water quality and ecosystem adviser (foreground left), serves up water samples at the tasting event. Credit: IJC files

Water is important in Canada --- more important than even oil, said Canadian Water Resources Association President Dave Murray, visiting from Victoria, British Columbia.

Murray encourages everyone to “stay passionate about water.”

Christina Benotto of WaterAid also spoke about that charity’s initiatives to provide everyone, everywhere with clean drinking water. Benotto noted that a sustainable drinking water source can be supplied for as little as $25 per person.

 It’s also important to conserve freshwater ecosystems, said Dr. Nick Lapointe of the Canadian Wildlife Federation. Mary Trudeau presented on the challenges of fire suppression and pollution source control in providing water in the City of Ottawa. Allison Gibbons from Mississippi-Rideau Source Water Protection talked about that region’s strategies for protecting drinking water sources.

The presenters also participated in a panel discussion on the many topics relating to water issues in Canada. 

Two Canadian Water Resources Association memberships were donated to those who correctly identified the four bottled waters and the tap water.  

An illustration of Ottawa city tap water from one of the presentations.
An illustration of Ottawa city tap water from one of the presentations.
IJC staff
IJC

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