Connecting Past and Present
October 16, 2022 By: Rao Fu
Article #1: Urbanization
https://smallwatersystemsbc.ca/centralized-vs-decentralized-water-treatment-systems
Comparing to the urban cities and rural towns, their water treatment systems can be designed and functioned in a total different way. In regards to the urban cities, generally, centralized water treatment systems would be applied due to the high population density, complexity of water applications, and centralized area. Whereas, for rural towns, decentralized water treatment systems would be applied due to its low population density, large scattering of land and population. Government and municipalities usually have to spend more budgets on building advanced water treatment plants due to higher water consumption and requirement of water quality, however, government tends to spend less budgets to build water treatment facilities in rural area because it serves for less population on a larger area. Rural farmer could withdraw potable water easily from well water or through easy treatment processes, which means they have a closer relationship between human and natural environment. On the contrary, urban people can only obtain potable water from a centralized water treatment facilities as these water can be contaminated due to its application into various industries or purposed.
Article #2: Conservation movement
Fishery industry is one of the primary driver for Canadian economy development. Due to the development of fishing technology, people could harvest a large amount of fish more efficiently after industrial evolution, however, they never thought that fish can be depleted one day. After fishers found it’s harder to harvest as much as fish like before, natural resource specialists and scientists then work with fishers to develop the sustainable fishery. With the limit of specific quantity and size of certain fish species, the new sustainable fishing policies aim to find a way to maintain a healthy marine ecosystem while meeting the consumption requirement of human. Canada has even came up with a sustainable fishery logo and encourage people to purchase the product with logo to ensure more wild population get protected. Thanks to the conservation movement, we and our next generation can have continuous oceanic resources supply.
Hi Rao,
The water systems comparison article is interesting. In rural BC, a decentralized solution is what most land owners end up with. There are a few other downsides that I’ve heard from friends and family. For example, I know folks who had to dig 5 different wells, which was costly, to find potable water. A friend who farms on the Sunshine Coast had their well run dry this fall, and was also prevented from using the municipal drinking water for crops, which spelled the end of the seasons production early. Another downside of POE well systems is many depend on electricity to pump water into their homes, which means with a power outage their can lose access. With increasing climate uncertainty, I think new technologies will be important as a solution that marries the two options. I certainly agree that rural residents have a closer relationship with their water source, whereas urbanites likely don’t give it much more of a thought – unless water isn’t running out of their taps or the quality drops. It’s easy to forget that it wasn’t that long ago that water borne illnesses were common without treatment for harmful bacteria.