Water

Life is at its most abundant where land and water meet, whether the water is salty or fresh.

Story and photos by Maggie Paquet

Two ecosystem types are among Earth's most important and most abused: estuaries and wetlands.

Keep an eye open when you cross the Strait ... that might be the Fraser River Plume you're looking at.

by Paul LeBlond

Islands are defined by the waters that surround them. In our case, it's the Strait of Georgia and the channels that connect it to the ocean, from Puget Sound in the south, to Queen Charlotte Strait in the north, a coastal realm often called the Salish Sea.

It's been a long, hard struggle, and it's far from over ... but efforts to restore BC's top oyster producing area to health are finally starting to pay off.

by J. Cates

The Rave is passe. The Septic Social is way cooler, at least in the Baynes Sound area of the British Columbia coast.

The only smell from this sewage treatment is that of water within a greenhouse and the fragrance of flowering plants.

by Ryan Durand

The sound of running water fills the air, its bubbling and gurgling permeating the otherwise quiet surroundings. Brilliant green water hyacinths gently rock in the wake of the flowing water, and a thick mat of duckweed moves in the slow circles of the currents' eddies.

Sooner or later, the demand for clean water always exceeds the supply, but in rural areas, steps can be taken to take the strain off overburdened systems.

by Patrick Walshe

Dry well? Bad water? Is there a potential source of contamination affecting your well?

Water quantity and quality is becoming a major issue as development threatens to outstrip rural water supply in some districts and often reduces the existing water quality at the same time.

Thirty years of organizing still hasn't protected the forests or the drinking water.

by Delores Broten

Entering the Slocan Valley in British Columbia's west Kootenays, after the drive along the "progressive clearcuts" and trashed and haltered lakes of the Arrow Lakes hydroelectric system, is like entering a magic corridor. Spectacular scenery and the large, clean, unmolested lake, bordered by numerous camp grounds, makes the valley corridor seem like a refuge. Halfway down the Valley, the signs of clearcuts on the west side are replaced by the deep green of Valhalla Wilderness Park.

There is enough water for everyone, and now a solution to fair distribution.

by Robert Blakeney

Robert Blakeney is a BC water and sanitation Engineer who has participated in relief missions with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in South Sudan and East Timor

Water, the "source of life," has shaped the world's ecosystem, established our political boundaries, and has resulted in the rise and fall of civilizations.