Meet two women who are changing the way we think about water

Dr. Maheswaran is a medical health officer (MHO) at IH. She has worked as a doctor in the UK, New Zealand, Malawi and Tanzania. She’s been a rural physician on Vancouver Island since 2012 and became a Public Health Resident in 2020, and earned her Masters in Public Health in 2021 from UBC.

IH: Why did you choose to focus on drought?

Dr. Maheswaran: As a public health physician, I'm interested in what affects health outside of medical models. Water is an essential resource, and up until recently I didn't see drought and water security being addressed in B.C. as much as I thought it ought to be. I wrote a drought report for Interior Health in October 2024. A few months later, I was heartened to see in the January 16, 2025 mandate letter for the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship that drought has been identified as a priority. There’s been a sea change in the past six months.

I was born in a country where water is a really precious resource, and it is not taken for granted. Having worked and lived in countries where water is the literal burden of women— because it's women and girls who have to walk many miles a day to fetch and carry water for the whole household—I notice how differently water is perceived in Canada because it is so abundant.

In conversations that I’ve had about drought, often the comment was, “What are you talking about? There's water everywhere!” and my response would be, “Yes, but it's not drinkable water.” Approximately 70 per cent of the world's fresh water is within Canada’s borders. But the fresh water is not always close to where people live. Treated water is a resource. Our money is put into it, and every household in B.C. pays for clean, drinkable water.

Related Stories@IH: Do you know where your drinking water comes from?
IH: How does drought affect us?

Dr. Maheswaran: Drought is a slow-moving catastrophe, and it’s not always immediately visible. Throughout history, drought has caused collapse of civilizations. It’s not as dramatic as a wildfire bearing down on your community, but the invisible devastation of drought makes wildfires and floods increase in frequency and severity. 

Drought can hollow out communities, especially agricultural ones where it’s been shown to increase levels of anxiety, depression and even suicide. Drought brings increased rates of illness and injury and can decimate economies. I think we sometimes forget that everything is connected in this closed system that is planet Earth.

Those on the marginalized ends of the spectrum, for example, those who are socio-economically disadvantaged, are the ones that are most affected, and affected first. As a public health physician, my role is to give voice to the voiceless. The marginalized aren’t in the rooms where decisions are being made, but I can be.

Related Stories@IH: We Are IH: Climate change and nature are physician’s passion

IH: What do you want people to think about when it comes to water conservation and drought?

Dr. Maheswaran: Being mindful of water consumption and conservation is important because we are all connected to each other, to our past, to the future and to our planet. 

The water that we have on Earth is the same water that’s been on the planet since it was formed. We haven’t made any “new” water.  It’s the same water our ancestors used and lived with, and we should be taking care of it, not only for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren. It’s a stewardship we owe our ancestors and future generations.

Glory joined IH’s Population Health team at the end of 2024. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology and a Masters in Public Health. A lecture on the ecological determinants of health with Dr. Courtney Howard changed Glory’s career path and she decided to pursue a PhD at UBC’s Institute of Resource, Environment and Sustainability focusing on health and climate adaptation.

Glory is part of a team that is developing the forthcoming Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment for the Kootenay Boundary Health Service Delivery Area.

IH: What roles do you and your team play at IH?

Glory: The Kootenay Boundary assessment is a great example of the work we do. We offer people information that helps them see how everything is interconnected and monitor the impact of climate change on people and populations.

It’s natural for us to compartmentalize our thinking: health is in this bucket, climate is in this one, economics and education are in these buckets, and so on. The assessment is a reminder that when climate affects the economy, for example, it also impacts your health. It also impacts your health differently depending on your vocation and your location. It’s such a tight web.

IH: How do you bring home the message to people that climate and health are interconnected?

Glory: When everything seems so far away, we lose sight of the fact that air pollution, for example, literally lives inside your body. The stress from worrying about drought, heat, fires and smoke, that lives inside your body. You may not be consciously aware of how your stress levels rise as the summer approaches.

Ten years ago, maybe you were just worrying about what to do with the kids when they are out of school. But now there’s this added layer of worrying about heat, fire and smoke. You’re a bit more agitated, a bit more tense. You’re doing mental gymnastics—constantly calculating, weighing risks— which is costly to your mind and the body. Should I go out at 6 p.m.? Should I wait until it’s cooler? What about the smoke?

Or perhaps the farmer’s market looks different this year. This cultural event where we used to have the freshest vegetables and fruits, this comfort we had, doesn’t look the same. We may have a sense of loss. It’s a stress that might not be acknowledged but felt. It lives in the body, but we can’t name it. But we should be kind and generous to ourselves and each other as we all live through these changing times.

IH: How can an individual person take action when it comes to water and drought?

Glory: With water, it’s hard to know if the impact will be within the next two weeks, or the next two years. Water restrictions, for example, are there for such a valuable reason. But they are hard to take: the restriction is basically asking you to break a habit, which can be annoying.

We’re all going to have to live a bit differently, and our habits are going to have to be more flexible for the good of the community. It’s about making that bigger choice to support the needs of your community. You can ask yourself, “How can I respond as generously as possible?”

Related Stories@IH: How can you protect and preserve our drinking water

IH: What do you say to people who feel discouraged or powerless in the face of climate events such as drought?

Glory: In many ways, we are more powerful than we give ourselves credit. But just like we aren’t always conscious of our stress, we’re not necessarily conscious of the impacts of our kindness or our disposition toward a situation. Often, that’s where the greatest power is, especially in a community.

You can respond to the changing environment with anger, which can breed more anger. Or you can acknowledge the discomfort and respond with kindness. That doesn’t seem powerful, but it does shape the way a community feels about itself. So, when you’re in the grocery store and someone says, “These darn water restrictions!” you can say, “Yes it’s hard, but everything is shifting, and we can shift with that.” It’s a power we can lean into more.

There’s this concept of social cohesion and connectiveness. It’s such an important part of resilience. You can think to yourself, “I can adapt, I can shift, I can help people in my small circle”—that’s resilient thinking.

Drought is a slow-onset disaster that is particularly insidious for Indigenous communities, who rely deeply on water culturally, spiritually, socially and economically. Indigenous communities also experience compounded vulnerabilities due to systemic inequities in housing, health-care access, and higher rates of pre-existing health conditions.

First Nations have been stewards of water since time immemorial. Upholding Indigenous Rights and integrating Indigenous knowledge, ways of knowing and being, and lived experiences, are vital to solving the climate crisis. Initiatives like the Okanagan Similkameen Collaborative Leadership Table show how First Nations are leading action on shared water challenges.

Related Stories@IH: Learn how First Nation communities are addressing climate change

Whether it’s floods or drought, climate change is straining our water systems across the Interior. This strain not only affects our livelihoods, food systems and economy, it affects our physical and mental health.

Learn more about IH’s response to climate change:

• Visit Climate Change Hazards and Health
• View our Climate Change & Sustainability Roadmap
• Explore environmental sustainability and climate accountability initiatives

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