What is World Water Day?
World Water Day is a UN initiative to celebrate water and this year it's on Saturday, March 22. This year’s theme is Glacier preservation. Glaciers are melting faster than ever due to our warming climate, making the water cycle unpredictable and having a significant impact on global water resources.
Glacial water is a key source of fresh water which is crucial for the health of people and our planet. Yet globally, people don’t have access to fresh drinking water and agricultural lands are turning into deserts. We need water - for drinking, agricultural use, clean energy production, and healthy ecosystems to name a few.
Across Canada, we rely on rainwater and groundwater to supply us with fresh water. Unfortunately, we’ve been observing declining precipitation for years now. Even this winter (February 2025) when we see the precipitation at our feet, 38% of the country was classified as Abnormally Dry or in Moderate to Severe Drought (Agriculture Canada). There isn’t enough water to replenish our lakes and rivers and support aquatic life, not to mention to draw from to support ecosystem health.
What you can do
- Be water aware. Look around and see where water might be getting wasted - a leaky tap? Sprinkler left on too long?
- Retain water in your landscape. Increasing the organic matter in your soil by 1% will result in an additional 20,000 gallons of water available per acre. (NRDC).
- Use a rain barrel to collect the runoff from your roof and save it for your gardens.
- Keep your soil covered, either with mulch or low level plants. Bare soil can lead to runoff where covered soil can absorb more water.
- Avoid using chemical fertilizers and pesticides so these salts and chemicals aren't running into lakes and rivers.
- Talk to your kids about the importance of water in the environment. When my friend's son was small she used to tell him not to waste water because the fish need to live in it. Encourage your kids to see how they reduce their water usage around the house to help the fish.
- Consider planting trees around your property. Trees are an important part of the water cycle, and can help to avoid desertification, among other benefits.
- Consider furthering your learning with one of our courses - Living Green Infrastructure, Organic Master Gardener and Rainwater Harvesting and Management all cover how to hold water in the landscapes.
As organic land care practitioners and advocates, we can’t stop glacial melt on our own. But we can direct the fresh water we have access to into our ecosystems.
Learn more about water scarcity and what you can do at WWF.
Learn more about World Water Day and the importance of glaciers from the UN.
By Julia Dupuis
