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groundwater licensing

    THE EMERGING CRISIS AROUND GROUNDWATER LEGISLATION IMPLEMENTATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: As deadline looms, thousands of BC groundwater users risk losing access to water, but not most water bottling, fracking and mining companies, warns the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (May 2021)


    When the Water Sustainability Act was first introduced in 2016, it was one of those rare pieces of legislation that enjoyed widespread if at times qualified support from the governing and opposition parties alike. In introducing the bill, then Liberal environment minister Mary Polak, said the time had come to effectively count and manage every drop of water in the province. “This legislation delivers on government’s commitments to modernize B.C.’s water laws, regulate groundwater use and strengthen provincial water management,” she stated.

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    THE EMERGING CRISIS AROUND GROUNDWATER LEGISLATION IMPLEMENTATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “All water users in BC need to know that the government takes unauthorized water use seriously. Enforcing the law will send a powerful message to historic groundwater users that if they fail to get in the queue by March of next year, there will be consequences,” said Ben Parfitt, resource policy analyst with the Canadian Centre for Pollution Alternatives (May 2021)


    If historic, non-domestic water users don’t get their licence applications in by March 1 2022, they’ll not only lose their authority to use the water, but they could experience a gap of years before a decision is made on their applications. “It is entirely possible that after the deadline ranchers or farmers who had used water from their wells for a century but failed to meet the licence deadline could find themselves competing for the same resource alongside new bottled water companies. That’s a minefield the government does not want to step into,” stated Ben Parfitt.

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    NEWS RELEASE: Trouble is Brewing Around Groundwater Licensing in British Columbia (April 20, 2021)


    “Historical water users who have not applied by the March 1, 2022 deadline will be using water illegally,” said Ted van der Gulik, formerly with the Ministry of Agriculture and now President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.  “There may be any number of reasons why historic groundwater users are not applying for their licences but it doesn’t really matter.  With the deadline less than a year away, Government needs to embark upon a concerted education and communication effort to urge them to do so.” 

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    THE EMERGING CRISIS AROUND GROUNDWATER LEGISLATION IMPLEMENTATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Leadership at the highest level and a clear strategy to motivate historical groundwater users to apply, including signalling that government will deal with unauthorized water use, would be the game-changer that groundwater licensing desperately needs right now,” stated Mike Wei, former Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights (April 2021)


    Effective March 2022, the transition period for groundwater licensing ends. The implication is that ‘historical uses’ without a licence would be considered ‘new uses’. “There will be no consideration of historical use for any application received after the transition period. Even if they apply after the deadline, any new use applications received prior to theirs will get a more senior priority date. By not applying, historical groundwater users are effectively giving their current volume of groundwater use back to the government for reallocation,” stated Mike Wei.

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    WATER SUSTAINABILITY LEGISLATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Not obtaining a groundwater licence and hoping that government will never find out is doomed thinking,” say Mike Wei, formerly BC’s deputy comptroller of water rights, and David Slade, water well drilling contractor


    “If an existing groundwater user applies after March 1, 2022, they will be viewed as a completely new user and that seniority will be gone! In many watersheds, the chance of an existing user getting a licence applying after March 1, 2022 may not even be possible – imagine how that would impact the business or land owner? It may not seem like it, but we have entered a new reality. A reality of no return. Existing groundwater users need to realize this, so they can do the right (and smart) thing and apply for a licence prior to March 1, 2022,” stated Mike Wei.

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