Ministry Concerned with Unauthorized Water Use
by Jerry Rousseau
In a recent and very interesting conversation with Emily Elsliger, Assistant Water Manager at the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, (BC MOE), I was told one of the Ministry’s main concerns is the unauthorized use of surface and ground water.
“Water has become a really big topic with a lot of political pressure and people don’t agree when it comes to managing this resource,” explained Elsliger, adding, “the Water Sustainability Act has been in force since 2016 and we are starting to take more action on unauthorized water use.”
In Canada, the provinces are ‘owners’ of water resources and have wide responsibilities in their management.(1) According the BC MOE, there are more than 20,000 surface and well water users in the province, mostly located in the south coast region due to population density. In BC, penalties for unauthorized use are very high with a maximum fine of $500,000.
As outlined in an earlier article by WCTA staff, more than two thousand letters were sent in late July to water users in British Columbia’s south coast region, including golf courses, municipalities and school districts, asking for voluntary water reductions.
“There is not enough water to sustain current water use and we are seeing declining aquifers. Food security is a real issue. 50-80% of water users are unauthorized,” stated Elsiger.
When asked specifically about golf courses, she said, “About 26 courses in the south coast region are suspected of unauthorized water use and they really do need to come into compliance.”
First in Time, First in Right
Water rights in BC may be exercised under a system of priorities according to their respective priority dates. This is commonly referred to as ‘First in Time, First in Right’ or FITFIR. During times of water scarcity, licensees with the earlier priority dates are entitled to take their full allocation of water over the junior licensees. For example a water licence with a 1930 priority date would have precedence over a licence with a 1960 priority date, regardless of the purpose for which the water is used. The WSA maintains FITFIR, but introduces some modifications.(2)
Our lengthy conversation continued – here are my notes:
• MOE is charged with administering the Water Sustainability Act (WSA). Previously, this was the responsibility of Ministry of Forests.
o Regulates water use for all water users in the province;
o Responsible for drought response;
o Informs water users;
o Monitors hydrological drought via stream flows and snow pack;
o Provides expert opinions on water availability;
o Operation team is 10 people for entire province.
• The most scarcity is in the south coast region which is their focus, especially the agriculture community.
• It’s a benefit for water users to secure water rights sooner rather than later (see first in time, first in right). It takes a long time to process water right applications.
• Even with authorization, access is not guaranteed. Legally, government is responsible for water supply. While rare to date, there have been isolated shut-downs of all water use, ie. Salmon River, which were effective in improving stream flows.
• The Ministry is nowhere near forced shutdowns in south coast region because there are too many unauthorized water users. Current hang-up is not having a viable solution.
• MOE does not have compliance officers, annual water use is not being tracked because there is no tracking system in place.
• When asked about the use of water management plans (WMP) like in Metro-Vancouver, Elsiger said that the Ministry does not need to be involved with them. One main issue is that ‘throttling’ water use via a WMP does not align with FITFIR.
At this point, further voluntary water reductions letters for this year are unlikely and the province is expecting a big snow/rain winter. In the meantime, the WCTA will continue advocating for our membership and thinking it would be a great opportunity to share further information and ask questions, Ms. Elsiger has accepted our invitation to present at the upcoming WCTA Conference and Trade Show, taking place Feb 11-13, 2025 at the River Rock Casino Resort. I hope to see you there!
References:
1. Water policy, Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/water-overview/governance-legislation/federal-policy.html
2. Water Sustainability Act, Government of British Columbia. https://engage.gov.bc.ca/watersustainabilityact/firstintime/#:~:text=Water%20rights%20in%20BC%20may,First%20in%20Right'%20or%20FITFIR.