Water cut to growers

A growing number of what the province tactfully calls “suspected unauthorized users” are being ordered to stop groundwater extractions, jeopardizing their operations.

A total of 17 users on Vancouver Island have received orders to date, including 10 in the Koksilah and seven in the Tsolum watersheds, Connie Chapman, acting director of the Water Management Branch at the BC Ministry of Forests told Country Life in BC during a media briefing on July 27.

She said all the affected parties were given a chance to submit water licence applications between 2016 and March 1, 2022 as part of the province’s transition to a new groundwater management regime.

“The transition period was open for six years, and there were direct mailouts and direct phone calls to the individuals requesting that they submit water licence applications and come into compliance with the act,” she says.

Chapman adds that enforcement activities against unlicensed groundwater use are also taking place in the Thompson Nicola. No specifics were given, and the BC Ministry of Forests did not respond to a request for information prior to deadline.

However, Country Life in BC has spoken with one farm in the Thompson Nicola region that received an order in early July, followed two weeks later by a fine of $230 a day for continued, unlicensed use of groundwater.

The farm missed applying for a groundwater licence by last year’s deadline, noting that the issue was never mentioned when the farm took over the property four years ago. The owners have applied for a licence, but have been told there’s little chance of approval as the basin’s water resources are deemed to be over-allocated.

The owner has been advised to obtain water from another user who has secured rights. However, growers on Vancouver Island have been told that water is licensed to use and should not be transferred to other users.

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