BC water Sustainability Act’s Provisions to Measure and Report Large-Scale Groundwater Use Will Facilitate Introduction of Fees

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British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment released, October 18, 2013, government proposals for a new Water Sustainability Act to be introduced during the spring 2014 legislative session. The proposed Water Sustainability Act will make improvements in a number of key areas, most notably in new measures to regulate and protect groundwater.

Currently BC is the only province in Canada that does not regulate groundwater use. Groundwater can be used without government authorization and there are no annual fees associated with its use, even for large-scale users. To remedy this, the new act contains provisions to measure and report large scale water use as a preparatory step to introducing fees. The new act is also expected to bring in measures to: regulate water use during times of scarcity; consider water in land-use decisions; and improve security, water use efficiency, and conservation.

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