The Opportunity
The good news is that each of the water challenges we face can be met with laws, policies and practices that will help guarantee the needs of the environment, people and business. This however, will not happen under the current system.
To its credit, the BC Government has recognized that the failure to fundamentally reform BC water laws jeopardizes the environment and the well being of British Columbians.
In 2008, the BC Government announced the Living Water Smart initiative. Living Water Smart represents the BC Government’s commitments to modernize the Water Act by
- Protecting stream health and aquatic environments
- Improving water governance arrangements
- Introducing more flexibility and efficiency in the water allocation system
- Regulating ground water use in priority areas and for large withdrawals
The timelines committed to as part of this process are unlikely to be met (e.g., environmental flow standards by 2012). However, government states that it remains committed to seeing the process through to completion. It has conducted two rounds of public consultation, first on the high-level Living Water Smart commitments above, and later on a policy proposal for a new Water Sustainability Act, both through the Living Water Smart website and blog (click here to see a comparison of this proposal with ENGO expectations and the initial commitments of Living Water Smart). Government says it is continuing consultations with First Nations and there is a possibility of a further round of public comments. We continue to push government to ensure BC has new water legislation able to meet the complexities of managing water in the 21st century in place before the 2013 election.
