The Water Brothers

The world’s coral reefs are home to a quarter of all marine life – and they’re being wiped out. The Water Brothers visit the Meso-American reef, which stretches for over 1,000 km off the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. This reef attracts an incredible diversity of life, however, 80% of the coral cover across the entire Caribbean has disappeared in the last 30 years. Why is this happening and what can be done to end the destruction?

Asian carp have invaded the Mississippi River, and destroyed its lucrative fishing industry. Today, only an electric fence is keeping them from entering the Great Lakes, and a few have already been spotted. If any more cross that barrier, prepare for Carpageddon. The Water Brothers find out what an Asian carp invasion could do to the Great Lakes’ 7 billion dollar fishing economy and examine how other invasive species like zebra mussels have changed the Great Lakes ecosystem.

California is naturally one of the driest places in North America, but how did it become the largest agricultural supplier on the continent? A mind boggling system of dams, reservoirs and diversion schemes move water around vast distances, even from outside the State. The Water Brothers reveal how climate change, drought, flooding and over-pumped aquifers have combined to put the entire water management system at risk. And like in many other regions with water in all the wrong places, the pressure is always on to find clever and sustainable solutions.

The North Pole is melting faster than ever. The Northwest Passage will soon be an international shipping lane. Change in the Arctic is happening at warp speed. With rising sea levels, the fate of the world depends on slowing the Big Thaw. The Water Brothers visit the Arctic to get the facts and find answers.

For thousands of years, the culture and people of Southeast Asia have been shaped by the flow of the Mekong River. However, the Mekong is undergoing incredible changes as a combination of climate change, overfishing and dams on Mekong tributaries have caused fish populations to plummet and altered water quality. The Water Brothers travel up the Mekong to learn how its conditions are changing and how a series of 11 planned mega-dams will further affect the river and its people.

Canadians enjoy one of the cleanest and most plentiful supplies of freshwater in the world. Tap water is also cheap and easily accessible, so why is there such a huge demand for bottled water? The Water Brothers visit a water treatment facility and discover that water from the tap is often of the same quality or even better than bottled water. Globally, 17 million barrels of oil are needed to produce and distribute bottled water annually. The true cost of bottled water just doesn’t add up, both in Canada and around the world.