Convening for Action in British Columbia

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    PATH FORWARD FOR GROUNDWATER IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Unless it is legislated, it is not a priority for government,” states Mike Wei, former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights


    “Unless you have legislation that tells you what the important requirements are, it is very hard to go forward. Legislation drives scientific questions; in turn, science informs legislation. It is not a one-time thing, but rather iterative. The science forward approach which some academics advocate is a good idea but has practical challenges. One of the challenges with science forward is if it is not legislated, it is not a priority for government. Also, you do not know what the hydrologic values are going to be 30 years from now. So it is very hard to figure out what questions to ask,” stated Mike Wei.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Look beyond water flowing downhill” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in March 2024


    “It got my attention when Mike Wei pointed out that the 1200 aquifers in BC are typically tiny. The median size is about twice the area of downtown Vancouver. And so they are ignored because they are not viewed as important. But you live and die at that scale. So, what is the path forward that Mike Wei suggests? Well, it has three elements that make sense to me: deploy the legislative framework to ask the right questions; use the battleground watersheds for scientific research; and protect the local interest and do it well, and do it well everywhere,” stated Kim Stephens.

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