Nancy F. Castaldo - When the World Runs Dry: Water in Crisis

Earths Water in Crisis

Nancy F. Castaldo

Algonquin Young Readers

2022

In memory of Jassmine McBride

And in memory of my mom, Annette, the first water protector in my life

Only when... the last stream has been poisoned will you realize you cannot eat money.

Cree proverb

The twentieth century was about oil but the twenty-first century will be about water.

consumer advocate Erin Brockovich

Spring water is justice, colourless and clear.

Swedish poet Karin Boye,

translated by Jenny Nunn

When you get up in the morning and turn on the faucet of your bathroom sink, you can probably trust that water is going to flow out through the tap. The same goes for the showerhead, the kitchen sink, the toilet, the garden hose, the dishwasher. You may not know where the water comes from, exactly, or how its been treated, but you expect clean, safe water to flow, like magic, whenever you need it.

But imagine waking up one day and finding there isnt any water flowing through the tapor the water coming out of the faucet is toxic. No water to brush your teeth, shower, or flush your toilet. More importantly, no water to drink. And its not just your house thats affected. Theres no water flowing out of your neighbors faucets, either. In fact, your whole town has lost its access to water. What would you do?

Youd probably manage pretty well during the first houror even the first day or twowith the liquids you stockpiled in your home. But as the days go on, the difficulty increases. Store shelves empty in town after town as everyone competes for bottled water. If the scarcity continues, you may have to survive on government deliveries of rationed water that might not be enough to meet all your needs.

How many days could go by before you would panic? What if there was no water to drink or use for bathing for weeks, months, or even years?

This isnt a far-fetched scenario. In fact, its happening in places all around the worldfrom Flint, Michigan, to Cape Town, South Africa.

And this loss of water isnt just inconvenient. Its life-threatening. There are many things we could live without, but water isnt one of them.

Wenona T. Singel is a citizen of and the chief appellate justice for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. In the fall of 2018, she lent her voice in Flint, Michiganthe site of a severe ongoing water crisisto the discussion about the need and right of all living creatures to have access to clean water. In the Anishinaabe culture, water is sacredwater is life, Singel said. Water has its own spirit.

Members of her tribe and other Indigenous cultures believe that water is a living being with a spirit that deserves respect. Modeling the beaded Thunder Woman on the medallion she wore around her neck, Singel spoke with clarity and conviction about our relationship with water, saying that it is with each of us inside the womb of our mother and is released when each of us is born.

This view of water as a life-giving force is reflected in the Waters section of Ohenten Kariwatekwen, often called the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address. The title means words spoken before all others, and the address is recited at the opening of important gatherings. This translation is of the Mohawk version that was published in 1993 by the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center in Onchiota, New York: We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many formswaterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water. Now our minds are one.