Climate Change, Adaptive Capacity, and Governance for Drinking Water in Canada

Abstract

Water managers have relied on the tendency of natural systems to fluctuate within a predictable range. This assumption is no longer valid in the context of climate change and thus past response capabilities offer little confidence in future adaptive capacity. Dealing with greater uncertainty and complexity relating to drinking water will therefore require a broad and integrative perspective. This perspective is developed by synthesizing literature pertaining to climate change adaptation, complex systems and water governance. We use this perspective to explore the context of drinking water supply in two very different settings in Canada: urban water supply and drinking water quality in Aboriginal communities. Insights reveal notable challenges relating to heterogeneity of drinking water systems, complexity of the social and institutional milieu in which they function, and their embeddedness in larger circumstances. Appropriate strategies for addressing these challenges include acknowledging the need to go beyond technical solutions and mainstreaming climate change concerns into drinking water governance.