Living on the ocean, we think a great deal about water and our environment. Despite its apparent abundance, clean freshwater is a scarce and invaluable resource. By promoting a message of water positivity, we aim to shed light on global water scarcity and inspire positive change in how we manage our precious water resources and our environment.
Be Water Positive
Our purpose is to build awareness of what it means to be water positive.
Water is Life. Let’s Protect it.
Freshwater is under pressure like never before. Pollution from farming and industry, droughts and flooding driven by extreme weather, population growth, poor infrastructure and extractive land use make it harder to manage our water supplies and protect what we have left.
To Be Water Positive means doing more good than harm to our water systems, replenishing freshwater resources, and tackling the global freshwater crisis head-on.
It’s about protecting and managing our watersheds and rivers, reusing and recycling water where we can, using innovations such as desalination, and stopping pollution at the source. It’s about restoring balance for people and for nature.
At Canada Ocean Racing, we sail the world’s oceans and seas. We see the impact of what happens on land – plastics in gyres, algal blooms in warming seas, and pollution carried downstream into the ocean.
But we also see hope: new technologies from our partners, growing global awareness of freshwater scarcity, and more people asking better questions that lead to real change.
That’s why we race: To raise the profile of water scarcity on the global agenda – from households to businesses and policymakers, to amplify the solutions, and to Be Water Positive.
What is the Be Water Positive Initiative?
It’s a global call to action to tackle freshwater scarcity.
It is a movement led by innovators, solution-makers, and pioneers in the water industry. With the support of our strategic partner, the International Desalination and Reuse Association, and campaign stakeholders such as H2O Innovation, we are working together to elevate water scarcity as a critical pillar of the global climate agenda.
To Be Water Positive means thinking short- and long-term, managing our water usage today, and reimagining the systems that bring water to our taps. It invites action across government, business, infrastructure, and community.
Being water positive can mean:
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Taking immediate steps to reduce our freshwater footprint
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Reducing water waste and pollution
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Supporting clean technologies and nature-based solutions
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Investing in water resilience
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Ensuring access to safe water for all communities
It also means holding decision-makers to account. Whether it’s your local council, school, or workplace, we encourage everyone to ask:
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Where does our water come from?
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How is it treated and reused?
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What are we doing to protect what happens upstream (before it reaches our taps) and downstream (once we’ve used it)?
Why Water?
Every part of our lives – what we drink, eat, make and use – depends on freshwater. Without it, nothing thrives, and yet:
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Only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater, and even less is accessible
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1 in 4 people globally lack access to safe drinking water
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Climate change is drying and heating our water systems faster than we can adapt
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Land-based pollution and raw sewage discharge are turning our rivers into toxic highways, funnelling pollution to our oceans and seas, and damaging critical ecosystems
How Freshwater Scarcity and Pollution Affect Ocean Health
At sea, we witness the end result of water mismanagement, but the real damage starts long before the water reaches the coast.
Rainfall on farmland and roads washes chemicals, plastics, and waste into streams. Poorly treated sewage and industrial discharge make their way into rivers or are pumped into the sea. From there, it all ends up in the ocean damaging coastlines, coral reefs, and ecosystems.
Here’s how freshwater problems impact marine health:
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Runoff pollution fuels harmful algal blooms and ocean dead zones
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Wastewater discharge introduces toxins, microplastics, and pathogens
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Reduced river flow increases ocean temperature stress and harms biodiversity
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Algal blooms can heavily restrict desalination processes vital for water-scarce regions
Protecting the ocean starts upstream. That’s why being water positive is about restoring the whole water cycle, from rain to reef.
Why We Are Speaking Up
As sailors, our lives are shaped by water. We witness its power, its beauty, and its fragility. We believe water stewardship is not optional – it’s vital.
We have chosen to race around the world not just to compete, but to raise awareness of freshwater scarcity, drive conversations amongst new audiences, push the issue up the climate agenda, and champion real solutions.
Our partners are developing game-changing solutions: water reuse and recycling technologies, desalination innovations, and smarter watershed management. We’re here to connect the dots and get more people involved.
What You Can Do
Whether you live on the coast or far inland, everyone uses water and everyone has a role to play in protecting it.
You can start local:
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Change your impact: Reduce consumption, recycle greywater, avoid pollutants
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Vote for water: Support leaders and policies that protect water resources
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Champion innovation: Adopt water-positive technologies from reuse systems to smart agriculture
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Spread the word: The more people hear about water positivity, the faster change happens
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Push for better infrastructure: Rainwater tanks, greywater systems, low-flow technologies at your home, schools, workplaces and local councils.
What our Partners are Doing to Be Water Positive
H2O Innovation is a water solutions company focused on providing best-in-class technologies and services.
The International Desalination and Reuse Association has been connecting people and ideas to Desalination and Reuse solutions for over 50 years to support sustainability.
We’re Racing to Connect the Dots
We’re a global team with a bold mission: to spotlight freshwater issues wherever we race, touching every corner of the earth. We’re connecting partners, promoting innovation, and giving freshwater a voice. The health of the oceans we love to race on start upstream, and everyone has a part to play. Join us. Be Water Positive.
