BRITISH COLUMBIA’S WATER SUSTAINABILITY ACT, UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE: “Whenever I hear people say there was not adequate consultation, I have to contradict that because the consultation was incredible. I have not seen anything like it before or since that has even closely matched the WSA consultation,” stated Valerie Cameron, a former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights and regional water manager
Note to Reader:
Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNewscelebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective, and the Story Behind the Story.
The edition published on November 12, 2025 featured Valerie Cameron and Mike Wei in a 2-part story. They were members of the compact team that drafted the legislation for British Columbia’s Water Sustainability Act, 2014. In their stories behind the story, they reveal what it was like to be in the room when the future direction of water management in British Columbia was on the table. It was their generational opportunity. They helped to create the foundation for future generations to build upon.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Valerie Cameron shares her memories of challenging situations that drove the need for Water Act modernization after 100 years
Valerie Cameron was Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights for surface water when the Water Sustainability Act was developed. In Part One of the 2-part story, Valerie Cameron reveals her lived experience as it relates to provincial water management. She does this through a series of vignettes that reveal her story behind the story. These are presented under five topic headings. Her context is how the WSA process brought flexibility and finessed the hard edges off the 100-year-old Water Act.
TOPIC 1: Challenges enforcing Water Act during times of water shortages informed the Water Sustainability Act
“I had a fair bit of experience in implementing the old Water Act and with the various changes in government that took place around then. I was assigned to represent FLNRO in working alongside Ministry of Environment staff on the development of the new WSA.”
“When I was regional water manager, I had to make some very difficult decisions that I did not want to make. The Water Act did not have the finesse within it to allow me some discretion on how to apply it.”
Chase Creek case study
“In one case, and it is a good story, we were having some water shortages in the Interior. On Chase Creek, staff had approached me and said we are going to have to implement priority rights because the priority water licensee is not getting all of the water that is required for a corn operation.”
Chimney Lakes case study
“A couple of years later, I did have to issue orders to suspend water use. That was in the Chimney Lakes system very close to Williams Lake. The system was a chain of lakes and connecting streams.”
TOPIC 2: Regional water managers now have flexibility to exercise discretion under the Water Sustainability Act
“When it came time to re-do the Water Act under Lynn Kriwoken’s leadership, I was asked to be part of the team…because I had direct experience with implementing the Water Act and some of the rough edges within it that really needed a little bit of finessing.”
“So, priority rights are still respected but people can still use a small amount of water to maintain their household uses to get them over the hump. That illustrates the flexibility that we did not have under the Water Act.”
Fish Protection Orders
“Another really difficult situation that I had to deal with under the Water Act was on the Nicola River at a time when Kokanee fish were migrating within the system. Fish do not have water licences.”
“But with the WSA legislation, we brought in Fish Protection Orders. If there is a situation where fish are at risk, then a Fish Protection Order can be issued to allow basic flows for fish.”
“Looking back, I wish that I had that kind of flexibility when I was a Regional Water Manager. It would have helped me deal with numerous difficult situations.”
TOPIC 3: How it felt being on the team drafting the Water Sustainability Act legislation
“When I was in the room, I certainly thought I knew the Water Act until I started working on slicing it apart as we were building the WSA. As we proceeded, I appreciated that it had been quite a feat just building the old Water Act.”
“I also had great appreciation for the Ministry of Environment policy analysts as well as the lawyers that were assigned to work on this from the Ministry of the Attorney General. They affectionately called themselves nitpickers and I can testify that they were really nitpickers on the details of the WSA!”
“I also had a lot of interaction with regional staff on their personal experiences. So it was really gratifying to be able to funnel their experiences and find solutions to some of the problems they had experienced.”
TOPIC 4: WSA process established provincial benchmark for consulting with communities to inform legislation
“There is something that I want to communicate. And that is about the consultation that took place in the lead up to the WSA. Some of the critiques of the WSA have said there was not enough consultation and government just went ahead and did this legislative overhaul.”
“And Ministry staff said, we are thinking of making some substantial changes to the Water Act. What do you want to see? They did that before a word was put on a piece of paper. Sessions were well attended.”
TOPIC 5: Reflections on seizing the moment when a generational opportunity arises
“I am honoured to have been part of the group that wrote a very complicated piece of legislation. It was a tremendous opportunity to make a contribution, especially when I reflect on the influence of the WSA going into the future. I am proud of the work that we did and cannot think of anything I would change.”
“It is remarkable how the WSA managed to maintain pre-exisitng water rights, FITFIR, yet skirt around them when needed by bringing in a hybrid system,” concludes Valerie Cameron. (Editor’s Note: Mike Wei explains this in Part Two).
