Canadian MineThe Canadian mining and petroleum industries are among the world leaders in resource extraction. While mining places limited and location-specific demands on water supplies, the sector becomes a high-demand user of freshwater when associated refining, smelting and manufacturing operations are considered. Furthermore, the release of substandard water from abandoned mines is a significant threat to freshwater availability in some areas of the country.

The petroleum sector, for its part, has large and growing requirements for freshwater. High-demand applications include extraction of oil from tar sands and injection of water into deep formations to enhance hydrocarbon production. The large amounts of wastewater from oilsands production are of poor quality and must be held in containment for long periods, while the injection technique results in permanent loss of water to other uses.

Adapted from Environment Canada's Freshwater Website <and the National Water Research Institute's report Threats to Water Availability in Canada - A Perspective <