Lake Country’s push to charge industry more for water gets support

The District of Lake Country wants the province to charge industry more for using water, and now they have support from the rest of B.C.’s municipalities.

Lake County sponsored a resolution at the Union of BC Municipalities convention this week asking for the provincial government to raise the industrial water rates. The resolution passed, according to a press release from the BC Watershed Security Coalition.

“Local governments are being asked to plan for growth while also responding to increasing pressures on water,” Lake Country councillor Tricia Brett said in the release.

“Modernizing industrial water rates is a practical way to generate revenue that can be reinvested in watershed security, supporting the communities and economies that depend on reliable water.”

Currently the maximum charge for industrial water users in B.C. is $2.25 per million litres, one of the lowest in the country. Quebec charges industrial water uses up to $159 per million litres.

The BC Watershed Security Coalition said charging more for industrial water use could bring in $100 million every year.

“Local governments have been raising this issue because we can see how closely water security is connected to the long-term well-being of our communities,” Cumberland mayor Vickey Brown said in the release.

Farmers around the Okanagan faced water security issues over the summer due to water restrictions arising from drought conditions.

The coalition commissioned a poll by McAllister Opinion Research that found 83 per cent of respondents in B.C. support raising rates for the largest industrial water users like mines and fracking operations.

Most respondents, 71 per cent, said they’re worried about a water crisis in the next few years, which is up from 57 per cent in 2018.

UBCM is an organization that brings together every municipality in the province to advocate for change to higher levels of government, which now includes raising water rates for industry.

“There is growing recognition that B.C. needs a more sustainable way to invest in watershed security, and it is encouraging to see that conversation continuing at UBCM this year,” Brown said.