XPost: van.general   
   From: gregcarrsober@gmail.com   
      
   Long overdue the NDP could have done it when they were in power but they   
   were too busy shelling out time and money for Fast Cats no one wanted.   
      
   VANCOUVER - Drought due to climate change, shale gas "fracking,"   
   commercial water sales.   
      
   British Columbia's water systems are under increasing pressure, and the   
   provincial government introduced some major changes Friday as   
   Environment Minister Mary Polak unveiled new water use legislation to   
   replace a statute introduced prior to the Cariboo Gold Rush and the   
   First World War.   
      
   The new Water Sustainability Act will replace the 1909 Water Act, and it   
   will mean B.C. will no longer be the only province in the country not   
   regulating groundwater use.   
      
   "The (Water Sustainability Act) will update and replace the existing   
   water act, which we know is well over 100 years old," Polak said in   
   Victoria.   
      
   Over four years of consultations, industry, communities and First   
   Nations said the priority should be to ensure enough water in streams   
   and rivers to sustain fish, Polak said.   
      
   "There's no question that this act will not cover off every single   
   aspect of water protection and water use," the minister said in a   
   telephone interview.   
      
   "It's not intended to. It's intended to govern the allocation of water —   
   who gets how much, who gets to use what and when and the powers of   
   government to deal with issues of scarcity, drought, etc."   
      
      
      
      
   Under the new rules, large-scale users now able to use water without   
   limit and without cost will pay an annual fee and 85 cents for every   
   1,000 cubic metres of groundwater used.   
      
   For example, a Nestle Canada plant in Hope, B.C., that bottles an   
   estimated 71 million imperial gallons — 319.5 million litres — of water   
   for sale annually, would pay about $265, Polak said.   
      
   Overall, the new fees for groundwater are expected to put $5 million   
   annually into the provincial coffers. By comparison, the fee regime for   
   surface water that has been in place for many years, generated about $7   
   million a year.   
      
   Polak said the fees and the legislation have not been finalized. The   
   province is seeking public comment until Nov. 15.   
      
   The new rules also attempt to prepare for the changing weather patterns   
   and increased risk of drought in B.C. brought on by climate change.   
      
   "Being prepared for climate change means being able to adapt to changes   
   in the water supply and demand over time," said the report released   
   Friday by Polak.   
      
   By mid-century B.C. is expected to be warmer and wetter, the report   
   said, with higher annual average temperatures and precipitation.   
      
   "While B.C. will become wetter overall, precipitation will not occur   
   evenly throughout the year. Fall, winter and spring are projected to be   
   warmer and wetter with more rain and less snow, particularly at lower   
   elevations. Summers will be hotter with reduced precipitation in most   
   areas."   
      
   The proposed legislation would also exempt saline aquifers buried more   
   than 600 metres below the surface. Polak said the decision not to charge   
   fees is an incentive to avoid fresh water for use in shale gas "fracking."   
      
   "When you consider the potential impacts of creating an incentive for   
   the industry to avoid fresh water use in favour of saline use, that can   
   have a significant impact on what we're currently seeing in behaviour of   
   oil and gas companies in the northeast," she said in a telephone interview.   
      
   Polak said the new act is not the only statute governing water use in   
   B.C. The Water Protection Act, the Fish Protection Act and the Drinking   
   Water Protection Act remain in place.   
      
   The conservation group West Coast Environmental Law said it was pleased   
   that the province is committed to new legislation.   
      
   But in some ways the proposed rules enshrine mistakes past in water   
   management, said Andrew Gage, a staff lawyer for the association.   
      
   "They need to hear loud and clearly from British Columbians that this is   
   our environment and our water and it needs to be protected fully," Gage   
   said.   
      
   Spencer Chandra-Hebert, the environment critic for the provincial New   
   Democrats, said anything would be an improvement but the legislation   
   proposed is "fairly weak."   
      
   "Climate change is going to impact us and is impacting us in ways that   
   we don't understand," he said. "It acknowledges it but it does very   
   little to change.... It leaves a lot of discretion and a lot of   
   potential for inaction."   
   http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/18/bc-water-act-climate-cha   
   ge-nestle_n_4124163.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-british-columbia&ncid   
   edlinkusaolp00000009   
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