How well is your water? N.S. panel to discuss climate change impacts on groundwater
CBC
Climate change is already affecting the volume and quality of water that's coming out of many taps in Nova Scotia.
Drought, saltwater intrusion, and flooding are just some of the issues that scientists predict will become worse in the coming years for the 42 per cent of Nova Scotians who rely on groundwater from private wells.
"With climate change, we will see more extreme events and we will see more impacts on our shallow and even our deep groundwater resources," said Barret Kurylyk, an associate professor at Dalhousie University and Canada Research Chair in Coastal Water Resources.
Kurylyk will be joined by Gavin Kennedy, a hydrogeologist with the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, in a virtual panel on Sunday to talk about how climate change could impact water supply.
The event is being hosted by the Rural Water Watch Association and will be streamed on their Facebook page at 7 p.m.
With changes in air temperature, precipitation and sea level rise all part of climate change, Kurylyk said extreme events that used to take place maybe once in 100 years may occur every 10 years.
Rainfall changes, or precipitation arriving as snow as opposed to rain, all impact how water is absorbed into the earth and then down into the groundwater where it's drawn up by wells, Kurylyk said.