On Feb. 15 of this year, Calgary-based Canbriam Energy Inc. quietly applied to the B.C. government for the rights to pull billions of litres of water out of Williston Reservoir, the ultimate source of much of our province's hydroelectricity.
The application was the second submitted in less than a year. In 2010, Talisman Energy, another Calgary-based company, got the ball rolling with a similar proposal. If Talisman and Canbriam get their way, they could soon withdraw a combined 7.3 billion litres of water annually out of the reservoir -- an amount equivalent to draining 2,920 Olympic swimming pools each and every year.
That's a lot of water, yet a fraction of what natural gas companies are projected to need for their "fracking" operations -- the name commonly used to described the pressure-pumping of immense amounts of water below ground to fracture shale rock, thereby releasing its trapped gas.
The dearth of information on the Talisman and Canbriam proposals might not be of such a concern if it were the exception to the rule. But in numerous instances important decisions on water allocations are being made without the public even being told that applications have been filed, let alone being provided an opportunity to review and comment on the proposals.
Fracking and its toxic results
Of greater concern, the paucity of data plays out against a backdrop of increasing environmental, public health and safety problems associated with fracking operations in the United States and Canada, including here in B.C. Problems such as contaminated water wells, household explosions and fires linked to migrating methane gas, kitchen tap water so contaminated with methane that it can be lit on fire, airborne discharges of natural gas containing lethal levels of hydrogen sulphide, and spectacular fish kills traced to discharges of highly toxic fracking wastewater into rivers and streams.
To date, natural gas companies have received the bulk of their water through temporary permits issued by the Oil and Gas Commission (OGC). The industry has a unique advantage over all other water users in the province in that it can get water from its own dedicated regulator. All other water users, without exception, must obtain their water from provincial water stewardship officials (recently housed in the Ministry of Environment, then transferred to the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations with last October's cabinet shuffle, and now, following this week's cabinet shuffle by new B.C. Premier Christy Clark, heading to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations).
First Nations cut out of loop
The troubling lack of publicly available information on the Talisman and Canbriam water license applications is paralleled by the Oil and Gas Commission's failure to share information with local First Nations. The OGC, which issues hundreds of temporary water use permits to energy companies each year, has routinely elected not to forward energy company water application to First Nations prior to granting companies access to water. In some cases, the time between when a company applied for large volumes of water and the OGC approved such applications was just 24 hours. Individual First Nations only found out that such was the case months later, and only then after filing information requests with the commission.
This clearly violates the government's legal duty to consult with First Nations, but also flies in the face of agreements signed by the OGC and First Nations in 2006, in which the province committed to consult with First Nations before oil and gas activities occurred that could "adversely impact" their constitutionally protected rights.
Even greater concerns surround longer-term water licences, like those sought by Canbriam and Talisman, because unlike temporary water use permits, which have a term of no more than one year, licences can lock in rights of access to public water supplies for years if not decades to come. The OGC cannot issue licences. The authority to do so remains with provincial water stewardship officials.
Near the community of Hudson's Hope, members of the West Moberly First Nations have only now -- five months after Talisman submitted its proposal -- received the application and related documents, and only then after formally requesting them from the provincial government. To date, the general public has received nothing.
'Give us all the information, not half'
Included in the package of materials sent to the West Moberly First Nation are letters from water stewardship officials and the OGC dated respectively Feb. 22 and Feb. 23. In the letters, a vaguely defined "bundled" and "innovative" consultation process is promised. The letters indicate that the energy regulator, not the water regulator, will spearhead the process, which will address both the water licence application (requiring water stewardship approval) and the pipeline proposal, which the OGC must approve.
"During this bundling of applications, I will coordinate the consultation with your community on behalf of both agencies and attempt to identify, mitigate and resolve the concerns that arise from the applications. This approach is being used in an attempt to coordinate Government agencies on related applications by giving a 'bigger picture of related projects' to the communities involved," writes OGC First Nation liaison officer, Delia Christianson.
Absent in either letter is mention of a clearly "related" project -- Canbriam's bid to essentially replicate Talisman's proposal -- that would effectively double the amount of water removed from Williston Reservoir and up the environmental risks accordingly. It is an omission that does not sit well with Roland Willson, chief of the West Moberly First Nations.
"As far as I'm concerned, the Oil and Gas Commission should not be leading any consultation on water rights or allocations in our territory," Willson said. "That's a job for provincial water regulators. The other thing that really concerns me is that when they finally send us information they neglect to mention that Talisman is not alone in seeking to divert massive amounts of water out of Williston Reservoir. In fact, there is at least one other major water diversion proposal that has been filed with the provincial government. If they want to present us with the 'bigger picture' they need to give us all the information, not half of it."
West Moberly First Nations members and the general public in and around Hudson's Hope only learned of Talisman's application through a brief company presentation to municipal councilors last summer, followed by company officials informing local residents that surveyors would be coming onto their farmlands to situate the proposed water pipeline.
When the surveyors arrived in September, they found fields baked dry by a drought that caused Williston Reservoir to fall by five metres. Water from the massive lake, diverted through turbines at the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, is the source of about one third of all electricity consumed by British Columbians.
The public is not invited
Under the circumstances, it is no surprise that BC Hydro is demanding a say in what water Talisman and Canbriam may get. Yet no member of the public is privy to discussions between the public power provider, Talisman and Canbriam, nor do members of the public have any idea what public water officials consider a sustainable rate of water use by natural gas companies.
BC Hydro did not respond to a request for comment on these matters.
What is known, however, is that water use by those companies is poised to explode, particularly if gas prices climb. Just one company involved in today's water-intensive fracking operations, Calgary-based Apache Canada, says it could drill 3,000 gas wells in northern B.C. Based on Apache's world record for water use at a single multiple-well gas pad last winter at Two Island Lake northeast of Fort Nelson, the amount of water needed to frack all of Apache's wells is estimated to be between 183 million cubic metres (73,200 Olympic swimming pools) and 300 million cubic metres (120,000 Olympic swimming pools); water that would be permanently removed from the hydrological cycle.
Once again, this permanent removal of water from public waterways is occurring in the complete absence of public input. Given the severe drought in one of the two major shale gas zones in northeast B.C. last year, it's time for the secrecy to end. First Nations communities and non-First Nations communities alike deserve to know important facts about who proposes to use B.C.'s water, where the water will come from, and how it will be used. We deserve this and more, well before decisions are made that will have potentially irreversible consequences for our land and water resources in future years.
Read more: http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2011/03/15/OurWaterSuckedAway/
]]>Home to some of the most diverse and beautiful natural resources in the world, British Columbia is finding itself a front runner in the sustainable business race.
Picture this: In the middle of a rainforest, a giant cedar tree is dying of thirst because in a warming climate, its roots are freezing.
This conundrum-described by University of British Columbia geographers Lori Daniels and Tom Maertens-illustrates one of the biggest threats to the future health of our forests and freshwater: Climate change.
It also demonstrates the critical role water plays as the planet heats up.
Daniels and Maertens, along with scientists from Alaska's Pacific Northwest Research Station, study Pacific Rim yellow cedars. Their research suggests the cedars have been declining over the last 100 years because they haven't been getting enough water. Not, as you might think, because of drought, but because an average warming of .6 degrees is bringing more rain than snow to the region. Without winter's protective ground cover, the cedar roots are damaged by cold snaps, the entire root system becomes weakened and the tree can't take in enough water to survive.
When the climate changes, everything changes
"If climate change is the shark, then water is its teeth," says Paul Dickinson, CEO of Britain's Carbon Disclosure Project. The impact of warming temperatures may be felt, not just as drought or flood, but through changes to nature's entire water cycle.
We will feel the bite in thousands of complex ways.
The good news is that some of the world's leading work to combat climate change is happening right here. Businesses are in a race to go carbon neutral. Industry,government, communities and environmental partners are tackling conservation challenges together. British Columbians, perhaps more than anyone else in Canada, want action.
In fact, an overwhelming 94 percent of British Columbians recently polled say they want new laws to protect the province's freshwater ecosystems.
Tackling challenges together
In B.C., WWF is working with scientists, governments and community leaders to help reduce the stress ecosystems will face in the future. Some of the world's leading companies are also stepping up to take action.
Catalyst Paper,one of NorthAmerica's largest producers of mechanical printing papers, set one of the most ambitious emissions reduction goals of any large corporation worldwide. Through WWF's Climate Saver program, Catalyst has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent since 1990. Along the way, the company found that protecting the environment also helped increase efficiency and save money.
This partnership is developing new tools to help communities plan for their future in the face of climate change impacts.
For people as much as for cedar trees, water will be one of the biggest sustainability issues we face. The B.C. government has promised to update our century-old Water Act. So WWF is working with other groups to ensure that the new law protects water for nature and for people. That means making sure that we always leave enough water in a river to sustain healthy ecosystems. And that we safeguard our groundwater, B.C.'s threatened "buried treasure".
Canadians are among the leading producers of greenhouse gases which cause global warming. Turning that around may seem like an insurmountable challenge, but here in B.C., we have the partnerships, the ideas, and the will to be a leader in clean energy and other sustainable solutions. Together we can create the best possible future for Canadians and for the planet.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/forests+water+climate/4407832/story.html
]]>As environmentalists, industry leaders and British Columbians patiently await a new "modernized" Water sustainability Act, the spotlight is pointed at the province's at-risk wetlands and watersheds.
Brad Arner, manager of conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited Canada, a non-profit focused on wetlands management and protection, says the wetlands "need to be given very specific protection under the water act."
"There are over 200,000 acres of protected habitat in B.C.," says Arner. "It sounds like a lot but when you look at a province of this size there's still a lot more we can do."
In addition to being highly diverse when it comes to plant and animal life, wetlands can function as flood control and natural purification systems for wastewater.
TO THE POLLS
According to a poll commissioned by World Wildlife Foundation's (WWF) Vancouver chapter, 91 percent of the province's inhabitants say fresh water is B.C.'s most precious resource, and 86 percent think fresh water is extremely important to the prosperity and quality of life in the province.
But despite the polls showing an eco-leaning public, it's a give-and-take situation.
"It's always a fight -- the immediate and direct payment is what we're accustomed to," says Arner. "Everyone's kind of cautious of 'what's this going to mean to me and my day to day life?'"
But looking beyond that "take what you need and address the consequences later" attitude is what's needed to ensure no one has to go without water, according to environmentalists.
"We can't sustain widespread impacts. It's going to affect us further down the road," says Arner. "We don't want to get there."
GETTING OUR ACT TOGETHER
The environmental community as a whole echoes Arner's sentiments. "Right now there are 44 000 water licenses in B.C.," says Linda Nowlan,director of Pacific Conservation for WWF Canada. "Those licenses are given out under a law that didn't really pay attention to conservation needs."
Nowlan,who also works as a public interest environmental lawyer and consultant, says even the drilling community that relies on extracting water for their livelihood, has noticed a drop in the watershed.
She says she hopes the new act will place environmental flows -- the amount of water needed in a watercourse to sustain a healthy ecosystem -- as a priority.
NATURAL CAPITAL
Nancy Olewiler, a professor in the Department of Economics and director of the Public Policy Program at Simon Fraser University, says the new act needs to put policies in place that protect the wet lands in order to preserve the quality of water.
"If you don't invest in it now and protect it you're going to have a huge debt in the future," says Olewiler, of the strong proponent of "natural capital".
She notes that programs like Environmental Canada's Ecological Gift Program -- which is a donation of land or a partial interest in land -- are steps forward in protecting sensitive ecosystems but more initiatives are needed.
"We've got some good stuff going,but is it enough? No," says Olewiler.
Oliver Brandes,associate director and water sustainability project leader at the University of Victoria's POLIS Project on Ecological Governance, says increased dialogue between industry stakeholders, lobbyists and the public is necessary to establish a more sustainable water act.
"(The old Act) represented a useful skill set for a different era," says Brandes. "We need to connect the decision making with those that are affected."
editorial@mediaplanet.com
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Water+water+everywhere/4407843/story.html
]]>Water in the Cowichan Valley is a topic of intense interest, as residents wonder if we will have enough water to supply our needs. The Cowichan Basin Water Management Plan is an attempt to meet these concerns, but only so much can be done by the local authorities, as the overall responsibility for water rests with the provincial government.
In an attempt to clarify and consolidate its legislation on water, the B.C. Government recently released its "Policy Proposal on British Columbia's Water Sustainability Act," outlining the key policies it proposes to incorporate into the new act. It includes a number of good ideas -- establishing provincial water objectives, including the idea of efficient use into the terms of water licences, the regulation of groundwater resources, and so on.
However, the good intentions of the act are overpowered by two major flaws. The first of these is the reliance on guidelines rather than standards to establish the minimum flow required to maintain a healthy stream. The Technical Background Report that accompanies the policy document distinguishes between them. "A guideline approach allows the decision maker to consider applications on its social, economic, and environmental merits. ...When considered as a standard, the IFR [Inflow Stream Requirement] becomes mandatory criteria in decision making." (p. 10). A guideline, then would allow a decision maker to rule that the economic value of a company's proposal was more important than the health of the river and of all of the fish in it. I think the people of B.C. value their rivers more than that.
The second major flaw is the reliance on water markets as one of the economic instruments that it intends to use to "promote security, water use efficiency and conservation." What this means is that a company with a water licence (typically granted for a 40 year period), to extract a certain amount of water, will be able to sell any water that is surplus to its needs on an open water market to the highest bidder. So if the mill in Crofton doesn't need all of its water, it could, without further discussion about what would be in the best interests of the public, or the river, sell it to a company that wants to set up a water bottling plant. The water in the licence is effectively privatized.
These two major flaws negate the "security" of our water, both for people and for our aquifers and streams and rivers. I urge people to go to the website www.livingwatersmart.ca/blog/ and let the government know that you do not support these policy directions.
Nancy Clegg
Cobble Hill
Read more: http://www.canada.com/Water+Sustainability+private+interests+trump+public+good/4383939/story.html
On Canada's frequently drenched West Coast, it is sometimes easy to forget that there are times and places where water is scarce.
A case in point is northeast B.C, where last year's drought led to a five-metre drop in water levels at the Williston Reservoir, fields grazed by buffalo were reduced to stubble overrun by grasshoppers and water levels in local rivers fell to 50-year lows.
Meanwhile, in the Okanagan, Vernon's drinking water reservoir fell to critically low levels in early spring, triggering strict conservation measures -a crisis that was only alleviated in the early summer after enough rain fell.
With mounting evidence that climate change is altering regional precipitation patterns, it is obvious that a comprehensive water conservation strategy and legislative change is long overdue.
Thankfully, we in the sometimes-wet southwest get this. While we complain about the rain, we intuitively understand that access to clean supplies of water is vital to our collective well-being.
Late last year a poll commissioned by the Vancouver Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund Canada found that nine in 10 British Columbians named fresh water as our most precious natural resource.
Nearly as many respondents (86 per cent) identified fresh water as essential to our prosperity and quality of life -an impressive level of agreement in our frequently polarized province.
Such responses underscore the wisdom of the choice our government made more than two years ago to embark on a long overdue review of provincial water legislation, with the goal of revising B.C.'s century-old Water Act by 2012.
The province subsequently received more than 1,000 written submissions and solicited opinions at numerous public meetings all aimed at informing how we modernize the rules governing water use in the years ahead.
The poll results and submissions tell us that urban and rural residents want strong, legislated water flow standards. Two-thirds of poll respondents also place a premium on healthy water flows and say that environmental objectives should trump even economic development, because without a healthy environment there is no healthy economy.
We also know that there is broad support -including support from some farmers, who understand better than most the linkage between water and food security -to change B.C.'s antiquated "first in time, first in right" water allocation system.
Such a concept doesn't work particularly well for unruly kindergarten kids lined up at a single water fountain at recess. It most decidedly will fail in an environment where our population grows and that great wildcard of uncertainty -climate change -enters the mix.
Third, we need new ways to govern how water resources are managed.
Communities, for example, must be more involved in the land-use and resource development decisions that affect local freshwater systems.
Right now, they hardly have a say in crucial decisions that could affect them in significant ways, opening the door to preventable public health risks and potentially crippling watershed restoration and water treatment costs.
Finally, B.C. is in the embarrassing position of having no meaningful groundwater licensing regime. The end result is that we risk sinking too many wells into the ground in places where there is insufficient water.
Worse, B.C. lacks baseline information on how much renewable water -groundwater or surface water -we actually have. Lacking proper hydrometric records, how can we be confident, for example, that many of the hundreds of proposed run-of-river hydro projects in the province make sense or can ultimately be sustained?
In the coming weeks as a new B.C. premier seeks to put his or her stamp on government, the temptation may be to abandon previous initiatives. But it would be a catastrophic mistake to forestall the commendable efforts to bring our Water Act into the 21st century.
Now is not the time to be timid. Instead, government should be bold and devote the resources needed to accomplish this critical task.
Last year's drought in the northeast underscores why.
Energy companies are pumping the first of what could be tens of billions of gallons of freshwater deep underground to boost natural gas production.
Pipeline proposals before provincial regulators would divert water to distant gas wells; water that would be piped across parched fields and to which farmers would have no access. Tensions between landowners and First Nations on the one hand and industrial water users on the other are already palpable.
Such tensions will only grow in the absence of Water Act reforms that all British Columbians deserve. Doing nothing is not an option. Getting it right, on the other hand, offers a new leader the tantalizing prospect of doing the right thing for the environment and public alike.
Hans Schreier is a professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia. Ben Parfitt is a resource policy analyst with the B.C. Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
The B.C. government wants to know what you think about our water.
Environment minister Murray Coell is seeking public input on the proposed new Water Sustainability Act, which would replace the existing century-old Water Act that regulates water resources in the province.
Information about the proposed act, unveiled last December, can be found in the new Living Water Smart Blog here.
Interested citizens can also submit questions and comments on the blog until Feb. 21.
Modernizing the Water Act ensures the sustainability of our water resources for current and future resources, said the ministry.
It plans to hold workshops and conduct a cost-benefit impact analysis in the future before submitting the proposal to the legislature.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Water+words+Have+your+sustainability/4127382/story.html
]]>Read more: http://www.opinion250.com/blog/view/18752/1/opinions+sought+on+bc%27s+water+laws
By 250 News
]]>Re: 'Urgent action' needed to protect B.C.'s groundwater, Dec. 3
It's important for British Columbians to know that -- as the auditor-general himself noted in his report -- our government is already taking steps to address his key recommendations on protecting B.C.'s precious groundwater resources.
We are reviewing the groundwater program and modernizing the Water Act, which is B.C.'s primary law for managing our water resources. We are also improving well standards and requirements for submitting well records.
In fact, we are also the first government in B.C. history to implement a $14-million comprehensive drinking water-protection plan to improve water management and enhance water-quality testing, and we're investing $80 million in almost 90 drinking and waste-water infrastructure projects under the BC Community Water Improvement Program.
The B.C. government is committed to Water Act modernization and we intend to meet our goal of modernizing the Water Act by 2012.
We launched the Living Water Smart blog in December 2009, released a discussion paper in February 2010, and delivered a dozen workshops around the province during March and April.
One of the most valuable contributions of the auditor-general's report is that it contains important information about the significance of groundwater resources. It serves to support efforts to advance the protection of this valuable natural asset.
Murray Coell
B.C. Minister of Environment
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/government+taking+steps+protect+groundwater/3937936/story.html
]]>The provincial government needs to take "urgent action" to protect its groundwater resource since one-quarter of B.C.'s population relies on it for their daily use, provincial Auditor-General John Doyle concluded in his latest report.
"This precious resource must be protected so it won't be depleted or contaminated," said Doyle in an interview.
"One million British Columbians rely on groundwater for daily use and the demand is increasing. It's a large group of people and that is not including industry or agricultural use."
Doyle's report said the cost of trucking in water to communities would be "astronomical" if groundwater in their area or His report gave was depleted contaminated.
His report gave the the hypothetical example of the cost to fix the aquifer for Chilliwack -- at least $30 million.
"Anyone can and access drill a hole and access groundwater. You don't need a permit. Effectively there are no constraints on what you can use," he said, adding there have been past examples of groundwater being contaminated.
On Dogwood Road in Williams Lake, for example, he said sewage got into the water supply of a residential area, and in Ontario, contamination of groundwater was so serious in one community, deaths resulted.
One of Doyle's recommendations was for the provincial government to modernize the 100-year-old legislation that currently governs groundwater in this province. He said the provincial government has promised him they will enact new legislation by the spring of 2012, and Doyle plans to follow up with an "action taken" report around the same period.
Another recommendation by Doyle is for the provincial government to do a complete map of all underground water.
"Right now it doesn't exist everywhere and there are gaps. The danger is decisions can be made on other activities that would have an adverse effect on [groundwater]," he said.
The Watershed Watch Salmon Society has long been calling on the provincial government to identify the province's groundwater reserves, said executive director Craig Orr.
"We've done several publications on the threat to groundwater. It's important for providing habitat for salmon. Groundwater is also important for recharging streams and keeping them cool [for salmon]," said Orr.
"We have no adequate legislation to ensure salmon have access to sources of clean and cold water."
Orr said a recent poll in B.C. found 98 per cent of British Columbians said water was our most precious resource.
"The poll shows British Columbians value water and interestingly they said priority in a time of shortage should be given to ecosystems -- salmon and streams even if it means slowing down economic growth," he said.
Orr agrees with Doyle's recommendation for new legislation, and one that has "robust regulations" to protect groundwater.
"The province needs a standard of groundwater protection for all of B.C. Also, they don't have enough data to identify what groundwater reserves we have."
New Democrat environment critic Rob Fleming issued a press release Wednesday saying B.C. is the only province that lacks a general licensing or permitting system for groundwater withdrawals. He said he was concerned the Water Act modernization will get sidelined in a recent ministry reorganization.
"The B.C. Liberals' hasty ministry reorganization split the responsibility for groundwater management between the Ministry of Environment and the new Ministry of Natural Resource Operations, making it even less likely that we will see strong, timely action on this urgent issue," said Fleming.
"While this government is in disarray, communities like Prince George, Abbotsford and Langley, which rely on groundwater, are being left to wonder when this precious resource will gain the protection it needs."
kpemberton@vancouversun.com
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Urgent+action+needed+protect+groundwater/3921395/story.html
The provincial government doesn't know enough about B.C.'s water supply or who is using it, putting this "valuable treasure" at risk, according to B.C.'s Auditor General John Doyle.
The Auditor General released a report today that examined existing information, protection measures and access controls in place to ensure groundwater sustainability. Doyle concluded that the ministry of environment does not have enough information about existing groundwater resources, and does not have adequate protection of groundwater or control over who is using it.
"What we found is that we're not good stewards as a province of this valuable treasure," Doyle said. "One million British Columbians actually rely upon this underground water for their day to day needs. That doesn't include agriculture or industry. The interaction between ground water, surface water and watersheds needs to be better understood and managed."
The report made seven recommendations, which include:
The report noted that the ministry is already in the process of reviewing its Groundwater Program, and is updating the provincial Water Act through its Living Water Smart program.
However, the report also noted that "while the ministry has a number of initiatives underway that will continue to protect groundwater quality and quantity, to fully implement the audit recommendations will require substantial additional funding and staff. Costs associated with upgrading the existing databases for groundwater data and to classify and characterize aquifers are in the order of $4.5 million over the next five years."
Doyle also said that the current situation in British Columbia is that "almost anyone can drill a hole and access water." The issue of water withdrawals in B.C. is becoming more important as oil and gas development expands. In August, the B.C.'s Oil and Gas Commission suspended water withdrawals in the Peace River watershed a few days after releasing it's first ever report on water use in the oil and gas industry. The report found that in one year, from April 2009 to March, 2010, the industry withdrew more than 78 million cubic metres of water.
The ministry of environment responded to requests for comment with a written statement that reads in part: "The Ministry of Environment recognizes the need to protect the quality and quantity of our groundwater, and this audit report presents valuable information on the importance of groundwater resources."
"While government has a number of initiatives underway that will continue to protect groundwater quality and quantity, fully implementing the audit recommendations will require significant resources that will have to be carefully considered in light of government's priorities."
Colleen Kimmett reports for The Tyee
Read more: http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/2010/12/01/ProvinceFails/
]]>The B.C. government isn’t doing enough to protect the sustainability and safety of groundwater supplies, says Auditor General John Doyle.
“One million British Columbians are estimated to rely on groundwater for daily use and this demand is increasing,” said Doyle in a news release Wednesday. “The government must put in place an appropriate framework to manage this precious resource sustainably.”
Many communities rely on groundwater for drinking water, which comes from aquifers as opposed to the reservoirs that are used in major urban centres.
Doyle said the B.C.’s Environment Ministry doesn’t have sufficient information to ensure the sustainability of groundwater.
He also said groundwater is not being protected from depletion and contamination, and there is insufficient control over access to it.
“While the ministry has a number of initiatives under way that will continue to protect groundwater quality and quantity, to fully implement the audit recommendations will require substantial additional funding and staff,” added Doyle, in his report.
He said that costs to upgrade existing databases would cost about $4.5 million over the next five years.
Doyle said that the Ministry of Environment is in the process of modernizing the Water Act and new legislation is expected by 2012.
“While there is much to be done, I am encouraged that government has recognized groundwater’s vulnerability and made its protection a priority through modernization of the Water Act,” said Doyle. “I look forward to receiving updates on the ministry’s plans and actions to address these issues and the recommendations in my report.”
He said new legislation is expected by 2012.
dinwood@theprovince.com
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/Auditor+general+raps+groundwater+plan/3913189/story.html#ixzz16tuBaQ7c
]]>SPECIAL TO THE VANCOUVER SUN, NOVEMBER 24, 2010
As the years flow by, access to fresh water is quickly becoming one of the world's most critical concerns. That is perhaps a fact not much acknowledged in water-rich Canada or out on its wet West Coast.
Nevertheless the recently released McAllister Opinion Research public opinion poll commissioned by the Vancouver Foundation and WWFCanada confirms that indeed British Columbians as a whole see the coming challenges surprisingly clearly.
Some of the results from this poll are not surprising: 91 per cent of respondents say fresh water is B.C.'s most precious resource and 86 per cent think fresh water is extremely important to the prosperity and quality of life in the province. There is general recognition that fresh water is the key to life and health, livelihoods and nature. But almost eight in 10 say that water shortages will become a moderate to major problem even here within the next 10 years. All of this is not really news, but it is interesting to note the high level of consensus rarely found in B.C.
A few results are more surprising. For example, almost 75 per cent think that in times of scarcity securing nature's need for water is more important than water for industry or economic growth. After assurance of adequate drinking water, the next most important priority in water use is for healthy watersheds, fish and wildlife, and natural ecosystems. This confirms that it may indeed be water -- not oil -- that will define B.C. and our collective social, economic and environmental prosperity in coming years.
Another important insight gleaned from this survey suggests that British Columbians are not at all confident about the rules that now govern how we make decisions about water use and management.
Slightly over two years ago, the B.C. government (not just the minister of
environment) committed itself to developing and implementing a visionary water strategy, including a commitment to update existing water laws for the province. Under the quaintly bureaucratic title of WAM (Water Act Modernization), the government set out to revise, with an almost unprecedented degree of public participation, the century-old Water Act as the centrepiece of its ambitious water reform.
Thus the current B.C. Liberal government itself has acknowledged the importance of water, both to us all as living beings and also as the foundation of our economic and community success. Yet resources, staff and commitments -- and perhaps most importantly the political will -- to follow through on the promised reform seem to have been swamped by budget cuts, worries about harmonized sales tax recalls and leadership conventions. Politically, these distractions of course seem important, but inevitably they will pass. Getting our freshwater system right, on the other hand, is a lasting foundational challenge for this generation in building a sustainable future.
Getting our water rules and management right has the potential to make everyone involved look good. Our political leaders made the promise; following through will demonstrate they are up to the task. Recognizing that investing in healthy and functioning watersheds is sound economics shows that government and citizens understand what is really important to our economy, our communities and our collective future. Water is our most important asset and investing in this "natural capital market" will ensure benefits for all of us now and into the future.
From a policy perspective some answers are clear. Experience elsewhere suggests much of what is needed and possible. To be successful the focus must be on both efficiency and conservation. On watershed-scale decision-making that prioritizes ecological health and function and treats ground and surface water as one connected resource. On full cost accounting that takes into account environmental impacts. And a real commitment to public engagement in decision-making that increases transparency, accountability and compliance. In B.C., these preconditions to success are simply not yet the practice.
Oliver Brandes is the associate director and water sustainability project leader at the University of Victoria's POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. Rod Dobell is professor emeritus of public policy at the POLIS Project.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/needs+water+rules+right/3876177/story.html#ixzz16DrceA5p
]]>The majority of British Columbians believe fresh water is the province's most precious resource and more needs to be done to ensure the future sustainability of fresh water resources.
That's the take-away message of a McAllister opinion research poll commissioned by the Vancouver Foundation and World Wildlife Fund Canada released Monday. It comes as the province prepares to overhaul its century-old Water Act.
In the telephone poll of 835 randomly selected B.C. residents 18 and older, conducted between Oct. 25 and 31, 91 per cent agreed fresh water is the province's most precious resource and 86 per cent said it was "extremely important" to the prosperity and quality of life in B.C.
Eighty-nine per cent felt industry should pay a fee to the B.C. public when using water for commercial purposes and 82 per cent said the public should be consulted in all licensing decisions on water use.
Nearly 70 per cent of people polled "strongly favour" ensuring that protection of "nature, wildlife and species like salmon are always a top priority."
However, 84 per cent of respondents were unaware of the provincial government's plan to reform the Water Act.
WWF-Canada director Tony Maas said in a statement that the poll confirms public support for the legal protection of freshwater resources.
"A small number of countries are leading the way by including nature's needs in water management laws," he said. "We think there's a great opportunity here for British Columbia to take the lead on water policy nationally and globally by legally protecting water for nature."
The Ministry of Environment has so far received about 900 submissions from interest groups and citizens, summarized in the Water Act Modernization Report on Engagement, which was released in September.
Ministry staff reviewed input over the summer and fall and "are developing draft policy proposals with the support of other ministries and external technical advisers," according to a statement sent to The Vancouver Sun.
A new act is expected to be in place by 2012.
Among other poll findings:
The poll is considered accurate to within 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
awoo@vancouversun.com
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/story_print.html?id=3868585&sponsor
]]>By Linda Nowlan, Nov. 22, 2010, TheTyee.ca
We love our water, so much that we want new rules to protect the elixir of life. Water is the most highly valued natural resource we have, according to a new poll from the McAllister polling group done for WWF Canada and the Vancouver Foundation, released today.
While it may be predictable that 98 per cent of British Columbians feel fresh water is crucial to the prosperity and quality of life in B.C., it's less obvious that 72 per cent say nature should be the priority for managing water use during times of water scarcity -- even if it slows economic growth. And 62 per cent of those polled said that current rules governing water use in B.C. were not strict enough to ensure the future sustainability of B.C.'s fresh water resources.
The citizens of the province are giving a strong go-ahead signal to the government to do what it takes to protect and conserve our rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands.
So take note, beleaguered politicians from all parties: this is a good news story. Bold reforms to safeguard water laws are likely to attract public support. Just as the carbon tax turned out to be a popular move by the Liberals (and opposition to the tax was a disaster for the NDP), ensuring nature's needs for water are met promises to be popular.
Time to make four changes to Water Act
How strong are the province's current water law proposals? The fine details have not yet been released, but all indications are that we're on the right track. The government's pledges to 'modernize' the Water Act are well underway.
www.FPSE.ca/takeaction
Four key changes are needed, and the government is poised to act on them all.
Put stream health first. The first promise is that water law will prioritize stream health and new legislation will protect environmental flows. This is an answer to the question: How much water does a river need?
Though we humans think we have first dibs on clean water, it's really the aquatic ecosystem itself with all the services that nature provides to us -- ecosystem services -- that should get top priority. The government has assured us that by 2012, all water managers will know what a healthy stream is, and fish will finally have rights to water.
Secondly, change the rules around water governance. Governance is a popular term in policy wonk circles these days. Basically, it refers to who gets to make the decisions, and how they decide. B.C. now has a patchwork of rules in place for different areas. The public wants a greater say. We all have a role to play in sustainable water use: consumers who shower, wash cars and water lawns; power generators who use water to generate lower carbon forms of energy; farmers who irrigate food crops; oil and gas companies who use great quantities in production; and many others.
Then we have water allocation, the tricky question of who gets what. Rules designed to promote settlement in B.C. back in the early 1900s when the law was first passed, that gave priority to whichever farmer, rancher or miner was first to put a pipe in a creek, are sorely outdated. These 'first in time, first in right' rules would seem ridiculous if applied in any other context. If you moved into a new neighbourhood, would you expect to get less water than your neighbour who moved in last week? Exactly.
Modernizing allocation rules will involve balancing key interests. But as the poll demonstrated, and as water scientists agree, nature's needs for water should come first. A whopping 94 per cent of those polled favour ensuring that the protection of nature, wildlife and species like salmon get top priority for water.
Next up is groundwater. B.C. has the dubious distinction of being almost alone in the developed world in not requiring groundwater users to obtain some form of license before they drill a well. (There are some exceptions for massive new wells.) And this omission is not because we have unlimited groundwater supplies at our beck and call. Just ask residents of the Okanagan, the Gulf Islands, or the Nicola Valley. They'll tell you they need groundwater controls to protect drinking water, and to ensure there's enough for cattle, migrating salmon, and peach orchards. After all, every source of water is connected in the hydrological cycle. Kudos to the government for confirming that it will finally remedy this glaring defect in B.C. water law.
We are fortunate in B.C. to have an abundance of free-flowing wild rivers, as well as multi-use rivers at the base of our economy and society. We love our water, and we welcome the law reforms needed to keep it healthy. Let's hope the current political upheaval doesn't derail the scheduled reforms. [Tyee]
Linda Nowlan is an environmental lawyer in Vancouver who served on the Canadian Council of Academies' Expert Panel on Groundwater, the BC Independent Drinking Water Review Panel, and is the author of numerous reports on water and environmental law, including Practising Shared Water Governance in Canada: A Primer and Buried Treasure: Groundwater Permitting and Pricing in Canada (co-authored with Dr. Karen Bakker) and Buried Treasure: Groundwater Permitting and Pricing in Canada.
]]>VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Nov. 22, 2010) - Ninety-four per cent of British Columbians say they want protection of nature, wildlife and species made a top priority in new provincial water rules, according to a poll released today. Nine in ten British Columbians say fresh water is our most precious resource.
The McAllister Opinion Research poll, commissioned by the Vancouver Foundation and WWF-Canada, reports that nine in ten citizens, (91 per cent) say fresh water is BC's most precious resource, while 86 per cent say fresh water is "extremely important" to the prosperity and quality of life in the province.
While the majority favour new rules to protect BC's freshwater ecosystems, a surprising 84 per cent are unaware the province is currently pursuing major reforms to its century-old Water Act, with next steps expected before the end of this year.
"It's time for a modern Water Act for a modern British Columbia," says Tony Maas, WWF-Canada Freshwater Program Director. "These poll results confirm public support for the protection of freshwater resources and we encourage the government to ensure this important legacy for the people of BC."
While a slight majority of poll respondents say today's levels of water use are sustainable, two out of three British Columbians believe the rules currently governing water use are not enough to protect against future threats to availability.
More than nine in ten respondents support new measures ranging from stricter rules for managing industrial and municipal water use; to water rights based on the needs of communities rather than first rights of access.
"Vancouver Foundation recognizes the critical role water plays in so many aspects of our lives. Fresh water - particularly for nature's needs - is of fundamental importance to the health and well-being of communities across the province," says Mark Gifford, Vancouver Foundation Program Director.
A majority (64 per cent) of those polled in both rural (60 per cent) and urban (68 per cent) regions of the province say stricter rules to protect fresh water would not harm the BC economy. Younger urban males aged 18-35 are strongly represented in this group.
Asked about how BC should update rules for protecting fresh water, a majority say they favour new measures such as:
• Stricter rules for managing industrial and municipal water use (89 per cent).
• Using science to inform water management decisions (89 per cent).
• Requiring commercial enterprises to obtain licences for groundwater use (89 per cent).
• Requiring active monitoring and reporting of all water use by industry and municipalities (91 per cent).
Respondents were also asked to rank priorities for water management in times of scarcity after drinking water. Protection of fish and wildlife (45 per cent) is favoured first, agriculture (38 per cent) a close second, followed by industry (9 per cent), hydro (2 per cent) and tourism (1 per cent).
"A small number of countries are leading the way by including nature's needs in water management laws. We think there's a great opportunity here for British Columbia to take the lead on water policy nationally and globally – by legally protecting water for nature," says Maas.
Maas applauds the province's commitment in its water plan to the protection of 'environmental flows' – to ensure there is enough water in a river at all times to maintain healthy and productive ecosystems.
"This principle says nature's needs come first," explains Maas. "So when we make decisions about dividing up water use, the first share goes to the river itself."
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