The Water Investor    
An overview of the water industry. The reports looks at specific water sectors, highlighting the challenges and opportunities that exist within each market. New contracts, mergers and acquisitions, and IPOs are also discussed.

The Future of Water   
According to the United Nations, two thirds of the world will face serious water shortages by 2025. Today, 2 in 10 people do not have access to safe drinking water and 5 in 10 to adequate sanitation. With such alarming statistics what can be done to face the increasing threat of water scarcity around the globe?

H20 Urban    Our cities are plagued with aging infrastructure, overuse and contamination of both source and groundwater and rising issues related to global warming.

Rez Water   
First Nations communities face an appalling lack of drinking water and wastewater treatment. Although the Federal Government has pledged to fix these issues, many communities are still without basic water services on reserves and in isolated areas, largely due to the lack of resources, equipment and expertise to treat water.

The Great Lakes   
North America's largest body of fresh water is increasingly theatened by contamination, invasive species and lowering water levels caused by global warming. With the drought situation in the Southeast and California, the lakes also face growing demands for water diversions from dryer states.

Lead Pipes   
Homes built before 1950 often have leaded distribution lines and service connections. In newer homes, lead may leach from solder for several years until the pipes form a protective oxide layer. Lead is more likely to be found in soft or very acidic water and in very old or very new homes. Severe cases of lead poisoning are rare in Canada. However, even small amounts of lead can be harmful, especially to infants, young children and pregnant women.

Blue-green Algae   
The increased presence of phosporous in water, largely emanating from fertilizers used in farms and gardens, as well as global warming are seen as the major causes for the spread of blue-green algae or cyanobacteria. The phemomenon which caused concern in Quebec over the past two summers, is actually global.

The Oils Sands   
The Canadian oil sands industry produces more than one million barrels of synthetic oil per day, and output is expanding rapidly. However, the production and processing that turns the tar sands' bitumen into oil consume huge amounts of water. Each barrel of oil requires two to five barrels of water. The oil extraction is also the cause of widespread contamination in surface and groundwater.

Devils Lake   
In 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommended that a diversion be built from Devils Lake into the nearby Sheyenne River. It made this recommendation in the face of opposition from the Government of Manitoba. Since the Sheyenne is a tributary of the Red River, which flows northward into Canada, any diversion would degrade the quality of the water that empties into Lake Winnipeg -- an inland freshwater sea that supports a commercial fishery worth $50-million (Canadian) annually, as well as a substantial tourist industry.

NAFTA   
The North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada the US and Mexico has brought to the forefront several transnational and transborder water issues between the three countries.Bulk water is not included in the NAFTA agreement unless it is traded as a good or commodified. Canadian environmentalists and legal experts believe that, in fact, bulk water is not protected under NAFTA and that it's only a matter of time before it is treated as a commodity.