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Climate scientists from across the country say there is an urgent need for Canada to remedy gaps in its water sustainability practices.

In 2015, the country was one of 193 that committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

A new report from researchers at the University of Saskatchewan-led Global Water Futures program (GWF) says Canada is currently not on track to meet those goals as they pertain to water.

However, with proper management of resources and research, Canada could take a lead role in advancing global water security, the report states.

© Liam Richards A dry summer left the South Saskatchewan with lower-than-average levels this year.

The report, Water Futures for the World We Want , was released this week at a national GWF meeting in Hamilton, Ont.

Corinne Schuster-Wallace, a U of S professor and co-author of the report, said it comes as signs of water security increasingly becoming an issue, with climate change expediting the situation.

In Saskatchewan, this year’s harvest was one of the worst the province has seen in years.

A year of bad weather kicked off by a dry spring and early fall precipitation have some experts estimating that millions of acres will go unharvested. What is left in the spring may be damaged and devalued.

Saskatchewan receives a significant amount of its water from glacial run-off from the Rockies; snow packs serve as natural reservoirs for that run-off and release it in the spring for crops.

The melting of the glaciers affects whether those packs are able to melt and meet the demand and timing for water.

Schuster-Wallace noted recent headlines about lead in drinking water and algae blooms affecting drinking water and recreational use as indicators.

“It’s the combination of these, and that is why we put the report together, that urgency of ‘we have to do something,’ ” Schuster-Wallace said. “We have to do things differently and we have to do them differently now.”

One of the biggest challenges outlined in the report is jurisdictional fragmentation — how some aspects of water management are handled provincially and territorially while others are managed federally.

One concrete step would be to fill in those gaps with consolidation of data and collaboration between levels of government and with communities and organizations to put research into practice.

While those include Indigenous-led research initiatives, more generally traditional knowledge and including Indigenous voices in those discussions is critical, Schuster-Wallace said.

The report points to inadequate access to clean drinking water on First Nations as a challenge. While the Liberal government has committed to lifting all long-term boil water advisories by March 2021, water scientists say the overarching issues that lead to water insecurity still need to be addressed.

“There are lessons to be learned and it’s also redressing colonization,” Schuster-Wallace said.

“I say whenever you braid, then you’re strengthening. So if we’re able to braid traditional knowledge and western science, then we’re going to come out with something that is of benefit to all of us.”

amshort@postmedia.com