Mike de Souza of PostMedia writes about a new report that suggests industrial water users should pay for the water they use. The report also suggests that Canada should create a new inventory of its water resources:

The panel, appointed by the federal government to provide advice on environmental and economic issues, said that industry accounts for about 86 per cent of Canada’s water consumption but faces minimal costs or licensing fees.

However, the analysis concluded regional governments could substantially reduce water consumption, in some cases by up to 20 per cent, by charging modest fees of less than $0.10 per thousand litres of water consumed.

The report also noted that other factors, such as climate change, threaten water availability in some regions. It suggested such threats increase the importance of conservation.

Read the full story via Canada should charge industry for water: Report.