Watershed Security for BC
The past half decade in BC has seen record-breaking drought, wildfire, and floods due to a changing climate and the destruction of our watersheds. These crises are putting the safety, security and livelihoods of people across the province at risk. Urgent action is needed to strengthen the health of BC’s watersheds—the foundation of our natural wealth and our natural defences to the growing water crisis. BC needs to establish a system of local watershed boards that unite communities around shared priorities, and to invest in front-line watershed workers to restore the health of their home watersheds. This work should be funded by raising water rental rates for industrial users, as has been done in other jurisdictions.
Watersheds are the backbone of our province, sustaining our fish and wildlife, providing natural defences to the climate crisis, and key resources for our communities. From healthy forests to wetlands to streambanks, all have critical roles to play in the health of our watersheds and safeguarding our natural systems. Similarly, access to freshwater sustains our province, supporting drinking water for towns, wild salmon abundance, and local economic prosperity including agriculture, tourism, and recreation.
However, decades of degradation of our watersheds, compounded by more severe and frequent climate disasters, are having profound social, economic and ecological impacts. Conflicts around water and other watershed resources are at risk of escalating unless action is taken to better manage our watersheds, supporting First Nations and local communities with a say in these decisions.
To achieve this, our province should invest in the following watershed governance and stewardship actions:
BC needs to scale up its system of watershed boards, which would bring local people together to plan for, monitor, and protect their freshwater sources. Currently, BC is one of the few provinces that does not have such a system. Local watershed boards have been proven time and again to deliver results in restoring salmon runs, improving water quality and bringing people together to solve local challenges around land and water use. Critically, watershed boards are different from traditional consultation or stakeholder processes, in that they have a much more direct role in local decision-making.
Scale up investments in the Watershed Security Fund to support front-line watershed workers and defend communities and ecosystems from droughts, fires and floods. The current endowment is a welcome start, but a total $1 billion endowment would provide annual disbursements that match the massive scale of work needed. Increased funding could support sub-sectors including watershed restoration, water management, education and training, and regulatory work, among others, and would contribute to job growth in communities across the province.
Funding for these important measures can be raised through increased water rental rates for industrial users, which at $2.25 per million litres, are among the lowest in Canada. Increasing water rental rates not only makes industrial users pay their fair share, but could have the added effect of encouraging more judicious use of water overall. There is robust public support for such a measure. Recently-conducted polling shows that over 80% of British Columbians support stricter enforcement of water pollution laws and believe large industrial water users should pay more to address their impacts, including pollution and water use.
BC’s watersheds and the benefits they provide are at risk. Action is needed to restore, manage and climate-proof these ecosystems, which provide jobs and sustenance for people across the province. By taking these steps now, BC can proactively ensure that our watersheds continue to be the first line of defence against the climate crisis and ensure communities are healthy, safe, and prosperous for generations to come.