LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Mike Wei, a former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights, is passionate about water. He cares, he really cares about getting it right at a pivotal moment in BC history,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability
Note to Reader:
Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on March 26, 2024 featured Mike Wei, former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights in British Columbia. An invitation to appear before a House of Commons Standing Committee gave Mike Wei a reason to step back, see things from afar, and describe what a path forward for groundwater management could look like in BC.
Path forward for groundwater in British Columbia
“Nominally the story is that Mike Wei went to Ottawa to talk about groundwater. But that is not the story behind the story. Mike Wei is passionate about water. He cares, he really cares about getting it right at a pivotal moment in British Columbia history,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.
“Weather extremes. Drying rivers, frequent wildfires. Our land ethic has consequences. The water balance is out of balance. We need both a mindset change and an attitude switch. Mike Wei, as an ambassador of the Partnership, is involved in an ongoing conversation about how to reconcile this need.”
“His meeting with the House of Commons committee created an opportunity for reflection by Mike Wei. It gave him a reason to step back, see things from afar, and describe what a path forward could look like. In the story behind the story, Mike Wei presents broad brush solutions in clear terms.”
Learn to look back to see ahead
“Getting it right means understanding the historical context for surface and groundwater management in this province. This requires that decision makers at all levels learn to look back to see ahead.”
“Mike Wei’s over-arching message is that BC needs help because water invariably gets bumped by other priorities.”
“It got my attention when Mike pointed out that the 1200 mapped aquifers are typically tiny. 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.”
Unless it is legislated, it is not a priority
“In theory, few would argue against a science-forward approach to inform legislative design,” Mike Wei stated during our conversation.
“It is common knowledge that government-mandated commitments and legislation inform government budgets,” he continued. “Prior to the coming into force of the Water Sustainability Act in 2016, the BC government was less likely to prioritize and fund comprehensive groundwater studies.”
“The reason is that it had no legislated mandate to protect or manage that resource, especially as the BC government underwent budgetary constraints in response to the economic recession in the 1980s and political instability in the 1990s.”
“The lesson from BC is that the historical regulatory context cannot be ignored in regulatory design,” Mike Wei emphasized.
To Learn More:
To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Think beyond water flows downhill.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/03/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Mike-Wei_think-beyond-water-flows-downhill_2024.pdf