Growing drought in British Columbia reveals flaws in water management, as officials lack information on groundwater usage and mapping.
VANCOUVER — Growing up on a ranch in the Columbia River Valley, water has always been part of Kat Hartwig's life, and over the years, she's noticed changes.
Officials don't always know who is using groundwater it, how much they're using, or where they're drawing it from, experts say. There are gaps in mapping and other data that officials need to effectively manage water during times of scarcity. The B.C. Energy Regulator publishes quarterly water-use reports for the oil and gas sector, and some other licensees may be required to report how much they use. Groundwater users may also be asked to complete a"beneficial use" declaration to show they're meeting licence terms.
Many of those tables involve members of the agricultural sector, he says, pointing to the recent announcement of $80 million in additional funding for the province's agricultural water infrastructure program to help farmers weather times of drought.But"standing up what may be dozens and dozens of these community water tables in short order ... is very much in the government's interest," he says.
There were just two groundwater observation wells in the Columbia Basin when Living Lakes began monitoring in 2017, she says. Today, there are more than 30. Last year they registered some of the lowest water levels, Hartwig adds. B.C. has been working to bring people who use groundwater into the licensing system introduced with the 2016 legislation. The province offered existing users a six-year transition period to obtain a licence with the date recognizing their first use of the groundwater.
Cullen says sign-ups came in"dramatically" below what officials had hoped for and what the province needs to manage water."We're trying to broadly understand the resistance to people getting licensed and to lower ," he says, adding things are"trending in the right direction." Brandes says the province's handling of the situation contributed to uncertainty, social conflict, and a loss of public trust.
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