What Can BC Learn From Other Jurisdictions’ Experience With Drought

A file photo of Howe Sound from the top of Soames Hill on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, near the town of Grantham's Landing, B.C., on May 23, 2016. The Canadian Press/Lauren Krugel

As British Columbia struggles with droughts across much of its territory, water conservation experts say the province could learn many lessons from the drought-prone U.S. state of California.

“We really kind of focus on a community effort and community outreach. We keep our customers up to date on where we are in our water supply so they feel part of the process and feel like they can make a change,” said Charles Bohlig, manager of Water Conservation for the East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland, California.

“We always talk about community and what everybody can do to pitch in and help out. ... Those who are [water] super-savers, we congratulate them and tell them to continue doing the same,” he told The Epoch Times. “Those customers that use a bigger amount [of water], we try to work with them.”

Many parts of B.C. have been facing droughts for several weeks, with the River Forecast Centre’s most recent report on July 15 showing four of the province’s 34 water basins were in Level 5 drought conditions, while another 18 were at Level 4. This means that two-thirds of the water basins in the province are ranked in the categories of most serious concern.

B.C. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said during a press conference on July 17 that while it was not uncommon for the province to face droughts, the level and extent of the drought being seen so early in the season was “deeply concerning.”

According to Mr. Bohlig, after decades of droughts, California residents have gotten “very good” at responding to calls from municipalities to use less water.

Mr. Bohlig said the state has also enacted legislation to ensure Californians use high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and enact water-efficient landscaping practices. “Those sorts of things that have been put in place over time have really kind of benefited [with getting us] to where we are right now,” he said.

‘Immediate and Comprehensive’ Actions

Hossein Bonakdari, an associate professor at Ottawa University’s faculty of engineering, said the province of B.C. has recently taken some steps to address the drought’s negative impacts, such as expanding water suspensions for certain industries. Back in May, the B.C. Energy Regulator required oil and gas operators to immediately suspend previously approved water diversions under Section 10 of the province’s Water Sustainability Act.

While Mr. Bonakdari said the government’s actions were “commendable,” it is clear that more “immediate and comprehensive” actions are required to address the drought’s severity effectively, such as implementing water conservation campaigns, promoting sustainable water management practices, investing in water infrastructure projects, and implementing policy framework and orders that prioritize water conservation measures.

The province should also increase its water storage capacity by expanding its above-ground storage facilities and constructing underground storage systems such as aquifer storage and recovery projects, Mr. Bonakdari said.

B.C. should also fast-track groundwater recharge projects that replenish depleted aquifers during periods of drought, he said. The province can “identify suitable areas for groundwater recharge, invest in infrastructure for artificial recharge, and incentivize practices that enhance natural recharge processes,” Mr. Bonakdari said.

Other effective measures could be maximizing stormwater capture by constructing retention basins, implementing water-capture technologies, and modernizing conveyance infrastructure by investing in canals, pipelines, and other water transport systems.

Other Measures

Andrea Pook, a senior public affairs representative at East Bay Municipal Utility District in California, shared a number of elements of their strategy to deal with the issue. 

Pook said the public utility district diversified its source of water, as it determined it was overreliant on the Mokelumne River for water. “We made the decision to diversify ... our water supply portfolio.”

Beside that, “conservation ... plays a very big part in managing our supply, as we use other things such as water transfers and recycled water,” she told The Epoch Times.

“It was quite amazing to see how much water people conserved during this last drought. It was very significant compared with our purchased water supplies.”