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11. Modernizing the 100-Year-OldWater ActBy Jennifer Cameron and Deborah CurranWater is vitally important to the environment, the economy and the daily livesof British Columbians.We need water for everything from taking a bath to watering the garden,from filling a reservoir to filling the toilet. And an adequate supply of cleandrinking water is essential to our very lives and health.Just as important, the blue and green veins running deeply through theprovince are the life-blood of nature. No plant or animal can survive withoutwater. Biological communities are richest and most diverse along streams,wetlands and other water bodies.At the same time, an adequate supply of water is necessary for a strongeconomy. Water is essential for fisheries and agriculture – and forhydroelectric production, pulp mills, smelters, manufacturing and service58Maintaining SuperNatural BC: Selected Law Reform Proposals
Given that all water systems (both surface andgroundwater) are connected, it is essential thatplanning and management occur comprehensivelyacross an entire watershed.industries. While healthy streams are obviously critical for tourism,adequate water supplies are also necessary for residential development. Thepreservation and wise use of the water resource is key to future prosperity inevery community.Unfortunately, Canada ranks as one of the most profligate users of water inthe world, on average consuming two to four times more water per personthan in Europe. Current water use in BC is increasing at a rate that exceedspopulation growth. Partly as a result, BC municipalities are reporting morewater shortages. In 2003, severe droughts affected the Okanagan valley andVancouver Island. In 2006, the “wet” area of Tofino ran out of water duringthe height of tourist season. The 2012 drought threatened water supplies – aswell as salmon runs and pulp mill jobs – on Vancouver Island. Continuedindustrial, agricultural and urban growth will further increase pressure onalready stressed water systems in different regions.The BC Water Act is clearly not equipped to deal with emerging problems.The Act is one of the oldest laws in the province and was designed to promoteindustrial and agricultural growth when water was plentiful and humanimpact minimal. It focuses on allocating water for private uses (throughlicensing) and fails to mandate conservation, minimum flows for nature, andlong term planning. It falls short on “adaptive management” provisions –provisions to allow flexible responses to changing environmental conditionsand increasing demands on a finite water supply.As recognized by the government of BC in its Living Water Smartcommitments, BC needs a comprehensive scheme that treats water firstas the foundation of ecological, social and economic health – and not justas an entitlement held by licence. We need a scheme that treats water theway people perceive it: as a public resource that should be safeguarded forecosystems first – and then made available through regional water planningfor a variety of high efficiency uses.The blueprint for reforming the Water Act has five elements:1. Protect stream health and aquatic environments by establishing legallyenforceable minimum environmental flows in each watershed system.Low flows can threaten the water cycle in a region. They can lead to impactson fish and wetland wildlife, pollution build up, diminished recreationalopportunities, and water bans for consumptive uses such as agriculture andlawn watering. Under current law, decision makers are not required to takeMaintaining SuperNatural BC: Selected Law Reform Proposals 59
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MAINTAINING SUPERNATURAL BC FOR OUR
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ContentsA. Planning and Environment
Page 9 and 10: Note that many of the articles refl
Page 11 and 12: A. Planning and EnvironmentalAssess
Page 13 and 14: • Destroy an important cultural a
Page 15 and 16: For more information, see:Environme
Page 17 and 18: will result from the interaction of
Page 19 and 20: 3. Land Use Planning for Nature,Cli
Page 21 and 22: The cumulative effects of human act
Page 23 and 24: Implement and sustain monitoring pr
Page 25 and 26: B. Regulating IndustriesMaintaining
Page 27 and 28: the vast majority of the province,
Page 29 and 30: capability, fisheries sensitive wat
Page 31 and 32: ∘∘∘∘Nations’ land claims,
Page 33 and 34: Limiting Mining Minister’s Discre
Page 35 and 36: • Since 1998, Ministry of Environ
Page 37 and 38: 7. OIL AND GAS: Reforming Oil andGa
Page 39 and 40: drilled as close as 100 metres to a
Page 41 and 42: Oil and gas companies can drill on
Page 43 and 44: 8. OIL AND GAS: It’s Time to Regu
Page 45 and 46: found in one of BC’s main fields,
Page 47 and 48: files/publications/Oil%20and%20Gas%
Page 49 and 50: - from strengthening corporate timb
Page 51 and 52: New mechanisms for local self-deter
Page 53 and 54: C. Protecting Wildlife & WaterMaint
Page 55 and 56: wintering ground or stopover. Unlik
Page 57: On The Edge: British Columbia’s U
Page 61 and 62: water as a public resource that the
Page 63 and 64: 12. Protecting Fish in British Colu
Page 65 and 66: This gutting of fish protection law
Page 67 and 68: 13. Privatizing Salmon Protection:T
Page 69 and 70: uilt on roughly one-third of the pr
Page 71 and 72: This policy lurch makes it even mor
Page 73 and 74: Planning must involve robust public
Page 75 and 76: has led to such an increase in cost
Page 77 and 78: For more information, see:Reforming
Page 79 and 80: fail to co-ordinate regulatory effo
Page 81 and 82: • Powers to enter into agreements
Page 83 and 84: D. The Urban EnvironmentMaintaining
Page 85 and 86: coordinating land use, transportati
Page 87 and 88: 18. Protecting Natural Areas in our
Page 89 and 90: stewardship isn’t just a matter o
Page 91 and 92: of less than 20 cents on the dollar
Page 93 and 94: of-way. The resulting greenways net
Page 95 and 96: 20. Reinventing RainwaterManagement
Page 97 and 98: LID effort in North America - a com
Page 99 and 100: E. PollutionMaintaining SuperNatura
Page 101 and 102: pumped oil into a Saanich basement
Page 103 and 104: 22. Reforming Contaminated SitesLaw
Page 105 and 106: of Compliance (COC) approvals. The
Page 107 and 108: F. Climate Change andEnergyMaintain
Page 109 and 110:
Meanwhile, Environment Canada’s s
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24. In Defence of the Carbon TaxBy
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over. BC’s carbon tax is still no
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generations of BC ratepayers and ta
Page 117 and 118:
William Andrews is a BC lawyer who
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happen when people heat their homes
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G. Ensuring Justice forNatureMainta
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• In 2003, the public’s right t
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Regulation Improvement Coalition an
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to provide the courts with the best
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perhaps the people can. By putting
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Chris Tollefson (D. Gilliland and J
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British Columbians must have the ri
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for both present and future generat
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that SLAPPs have a range of negativ
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Anti-SLAPP Advisory Panel: Report t
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An Environment Commissioner would p
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144 Maintaining SuperNatural BC: Se
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33. Reliance on QualifiedProfession
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Does this new approach have an adeq
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34. Reforming Freedom ofInformation
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ecords in relation to such a ‘pro
Page 154 and 155:
Information and Privacy Commissione
Page 156 and 157:
Gord McAdams was a “whistleblower
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could result. The legislation shoul
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