Beneath the earth lies groundwater, buried treasure in the form of aquifers. Manage it well, and the treasure will continue to nourish us for generations to come. That’s why it’s important for you to speak up and contribute your feedback to the Government of BC’s consultation on new groundwater licensing regulations.
As we have written about recently, West Coast and our colleagues have produced a statement of our Expectations for Groundwater Regulations.
To summarize some of the key points of the Expectations, we ask that the upcoming regulations:
- Entrench robust management practices by defining sustainable groundwater management , which could mean adopting the definition of the Council of Canadian Academies’ Expert Panel in their report “The Sustainable Management of Groundwater in Canada” :
“Sustainability requires that decisions as to groundwater use are made transparently through informed public participation and with full account taken of ecosystem needs, intergenerational equity, and the precautionary principle.”
- Ensure that new groundwater licences will only be issued in compliance with sustainable groundwater management criteria that consider cumulative impacts and environmental flows.
- Close oversubscribed basins and not issue new groundwater licences for those basins until the Ministry of Environment staff has sufficient data to evaluate whether the licence terms are adequate to protect the resources, based on a full understanding of the groundwater in the region. LNG pressure on groundwater
In the Northeast of British Columbia groundwater is under considerable pressure. The growing practice of hydraulic fracturing is extremely water intensive. BC residents have been urged to ask their politicians about water use by the LNG industry in relation to the legislation just passed to enable approval of the Pacific Northwest LNG project.
Our Statement of Expectations records the environmental sector’s expectation that all groundwater, including saline water will be regulated under the WSA and that the water related recommendations of the Northeast Oil and Gas Human Health Risk Assessment will be implemented. Shale gas development has often proceeded without the collection of sufficient environmental baseline data.
More data and more hydrogeological research are needed on hydraulic fracturing impacts on water resources. In addition to hydraulic fracturing, groundwater is used to flood oil and gas reservoirs, and extract natural gas from deep coal beds. All this activity is happening with scant local information on groundwater: the provincial network of approximately 140 observation wells includes only a few northeast wells and the classification of northeast aquifers lag behind other parts of the province. One of the most important features of monitoring is to require identification of a management response that will be initiated if triggers and limits are exceeded.
Speak up for sustainable treasure use
Unlike most treasure which can be spent faster than the blink of Captain Jack Sparrow’s eye, groundwater’s riches, if managed well, will provide immeasurable value indefinitely.
Make your voice heard. Consider having your environmental or community group endorse the Groundwater Expectations Statement. And let the government know how much you care about our buried treasure. Comments will be accepted until September 8th, 2015 and can be posted to the Water Sustainability Act blog, or sent by email to livingwatersmart@gov.bc.ca. Additional information on regulation development is available on the Water Sustainability Act website.
By Linda Nowlan, Staff Counsel