Groundwater deadline passes

Thousands of non-domestic groundwater users woke up this morning, drawing water illegally from their wells.

March 1 marked the deadline for well owners to submit applications for licences to use their wells, guaranteeing their historic water rights, and priority use in the event of restrictions during dry seasons. The province implemented the new regime in 2016, and gave owners three extensions to accommodate what many saw as a complicated and frustrating process.

Now, owners who didn’t apply for a licence – more than 12,000, according to the province – will be drawing water illegally as of today.

But there won’t be any immediate consequences for those owners still trying to complete their applications, the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development told Country Life in BC.

“The government will continue to focus on the importance of regulating this important resource and supporting people in completing their application,” the ministry says. “We are not going to be unreasonable with those who are not in compliance after today’s deadline.”

Instead, the ministry is urging users to complete their applications, noting that a last-minute push over the past four weeks garnered more than 3,000 additional applications from well owners. Based on ministry statistics provided to Country Life in BC, this puts the number of applications at close to 7,700.

“The additional staff and resources we have put in place are helping people to complete their application,” a ministry spokesperson said.

The province originally expected to licence groundwater withdrawals from an estimated 20,000 non-domestic wells.

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10 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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5 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.

SEPTEMBER 2026
Vol. 112 Issue 9

Groundwater deadline passes

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