CEDAR, BC- June 8, 2015 – Today, on World Oceans Day a letter will be going to Vancouver Island regional and municipal governments, as well as the Province of British Columbia, calling on cross-boundary cooperation and initiatives to secure scarce water supplies, and the rivers and creeks that flow into the ocean.
“The BC Water Sustainability Act has the potential to see new water governance measures put in place to protect regional water supplies for residents, as well as for rivers and aquatic life,” says Laurie Gourlay, president of the Vancouver Island and Coast Conservation Society. “We need cooperation, as soon as possible, to engage the provincial government along with local and regional governments to ensure there is an adequate water available for everyone’s needs this year and in the years to come.”
VICCS is looking at Ontario’s Conservation Authorities as a possible model, given the ability to address resource and ecosystem needs within watersheds.
“British Columbia needs to stop limiting it’s ability to manage scarce water resources according to artificial political boundaries,” states Gourlay. “Local municipal and regional governments that share similar landscapes should not be waiting at this critical time, but should extend a hand across boundaries to find the best ways to secure water supplies and protect our watersheds.”
A new study released by the Cowichan Valley Regional District, the Yellowpoint-Cedar Watershed Report, offers a cooperative and cross-boundary approach that could be a first step, according to Gourlay.
“We have heard that Haslam Creek, which flows from the CVRD and through the Regional District of Nanaimo, is expected to completely dry up this year,” Gourlay states. “And this is true for many creeks and water bodies according to those attending a meeting of the Nanaimo River Watershed Roundtable last week. The Yellowpoint-Cedar Watershed Report opens the door to cross-jurisdictional and cooperative measures that could lead to recommendations for greater watershed protection measures.”
In the face of an unprecedented hot, dry spring, and more to come this summer VICCS is writing to local governments on Vancouver Island, asking them not to wait while a drought hurts the economy and the environment, but to work together in establishing water regulations that extend across political boundaries.
“At this critical time, when our water supply is already restricted here on Vancouver Island’s east coast, we need our political leaders to take initiatives that will see water supplies secured across political boundaries. We need our watersheds managed and protected by an independent conservation authority that is mandated to ensure that watershed resources and ecosystems are sustainability managed for present and long-term needs.”
In the past month many public meetings have described the challenges facing the water supply in the east coast of Vancouver Island, and throughout British Columbia. Climate change, El Nino and unusual weather conditions have increased the need to find innovative approaches that will ensure an adequate water supply.