Modern Laws for Modern Times

British Columbians might be more excited about the long awaited liberalization of the province’s liquor laws, but in the long term, the new Water Sustainability Act will protect the liquid they can’t live without. We’re raising our glasses to salute Tuesday’s Speech from the Throne announcement that the government is ready to introduce a new Water Sustainability Act.

Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon Speech emphasized modernization. The speech promised “common sense changes to antiquated rules to reflect the way British Columbians actually live,” and envisioned that : “From vineyards in the Okanagan, to craft breweries on Vancouver Island, to small businesses across our province, modern rules will set the table to grow our economy and create jobs. “
We’re thrilled that B.C.’s antiquated water laws will be modernized at last. It’s time to stop being the “Wild West” with minimal rules for taking groundwater. Lack of groundwater regulation and weak rules on environmental flows harm ecosystems and fish , as we’ve noted in blogs about Fraser River sockeye, Nicola River kokanee and Adams River sockeye.

Our Top Ten Reasons Why B.C. Needs a New Water Act outlines why water reform is a priority for WWF. We’ve been in deep on this topic for four years: meeting with Ministers, submitting detailed briefs, participating on a Technical Advisory Group, co-sponsoring a workshop with two BC Ministries on environmental flows , hosting numerous public events, working with the renewable energy producers in the Energy Forum to support a strong new Act , publishing reports and blogs, and many more activities. The time is ripe to pass the law