DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Lack of Groundwater Licensing is a Crisis in the Making” released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in September 2021

Note to Reader:

The edition of Waterbucket eNews published on September 21, 2021 featured the groundwater licensing regulation, a foundation piece for successful implementation of BC’s Water Sustainability Act (WSA), passed in 2016. The WSA is once-in-a-generation, transformational legislation. The 6-year transition period for groundwater licensing ends on March 1, 2022. With six months to go, the dilemma is that a mere 1 in 5 small business owners and farmers who rely on groundwater have applied for a licence. This is a looming crisis with far-reaching ramifications for the BC economy. 

In September 2021, the Partnership for Water Sustainability formally released its second Primer on groundwater licensing implementation. It is a compendium of very persuasive and informed opinions from people who have expert knowledge and really understand the issue.

True Risks of Not Applying for a Licence

“If ‘someone’ does not ‘fix’ the groundwater licensing problem, it will get messy for everyone after March 1, 2022. It seems inevitable that government will be forced to act against unlicenced groundwater use – based on fairness to those who did apply. It will be difficult for government to shut down businesses. However, there are a few scenarios that have already come forward in the past few years that indicate what the future may look like after the March 1, 2022 deadline,” says Ted van der Gulik, formerly with the Ministry of Agriculture and now President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.

To Learn More:

Download a copy of “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Lack of Groundwater Licensing is a Crisis in the Making”

Download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Groundwater Users Put on Notice. Posted to the waterbucket.ca website in July 2021, this second of two Primers provides context and perspective on the value of a water right and why it is worth the time and effort by farmers and small businesses to APPLY RIGHT NOW for a water licence.  The first primer was released in April 2021. The second Primer builds on the first. It is not a technical report. It is a compendium of very persuasive and informed opinions from people who have expert knowledge and really understand the issue.