I know a few things about water.

I know that when I turn my tap lefty-loosey, the water turns on. When I turn my tap righty-tighty, the water turns off. I know that when I wash my clothes, and the pipes are being cleaned, I get really upset that I end up with t-shirts in a color that should be white, but more closely resembles a wet post-it note. Yes… I do know a few things about water.

Other than that, I have never really given water much thought. I swim in it. I drink it. Sometimes, usually on a bi-monthly basis, I take a shower in it. (Just kidding!) Being from Northern Ontario, where lakes and rivers and streams about, and where you can’t throw a stone without skipping it on some liquidy formation of sorts, it seems that I’ve taken water for granted.

A little while back, I turned my computer on to find a message that says “RBC announces commitment of $10 million over 10 years to the One Drop Foundation” and I thought… What can be worth a $10 million dollar donation?? (Other than me! I’m open to anyone wanting to make a $10 million dollar donation to my retirement fund)


Starting from the water, up… The founder of One Drop Foundation, Guy Laliberté, is the guy behind it all, having committed $100 million personally, over 25 years. Some of Guy’s crazy credits: He’s the founder of Cirque du Soleil, one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people, recipient of the Order of Canada, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Quebec, Canada AND Internationally and recipient of the 2007 Humanitarian Award, oh, and hey, just as a side note, the guy’s a professional poker player… That’s some serious serious resumé material.

Why water?

According to the One Drop Foundation’s website, more than a quarter of all of humanity has NO access to drinking water. (Maybe I really should reduce showers to a bi-monthly basis!) Half of everyone on the planet doesn’t have access to purified drinking water.


The average person requires 30-50 litres of water per day. That being said, children in developed countries consume 30-50 times more water than children in developing countries. Doesn’t sound like a big deal? Try washing your clothes, taking a shower, drinking, cooking, flushing your toilet, cleaning your house/apartment with the equivalent of 2 normal sized bottles of water per day.

Sounds like another developing nation problem, right? Not so much… Check out this picture of a lake in South Eastern US:


March 4th 2007                                                         Feb 11th 2008

This picture is from Brian Hursey’s flickr photostream… You can find more of his drought pictures here.

So, the One Drop foundation’s mission to reduce water consumption in the developed world while boosting access to water in the developing world doesn’t sound like just another charity to me anymore…

Now that I know that RBC is donating $10 million to the One Drop foundation, and that it’s part of a larger plan to donate $50 million to water related initiatives, am I rethinking my water habits? To be honest with you, not just yet. But I’m thinking about rethinking them, and that’s a start.

Why RBC’s interest in water? Stay tuned… This isn’t water under the bridge just yet.