By Andru McCracken

For some residents it’s been an eye opener to discover just how little protection there is for ground water in the province of British Columbia. So much so, that in reaction to a proposed water bottling plant just north of Valemount, a group has formed to try and protect ground water in the area and discourage the sale of bottled water.

On Wednesday, July 18 thirty residents attended this group’s first publicly advertised meeting at the Valemount Community Hall. The group largely agreed that selling bottled water has negative consequences for this area and for the environment in general. The group will meets again on Wednesday, August 1.

One of the key points brought up at the meeting was that one community in British Columbia is looking at better ways to manage ground water.

Brad Badelt is an environmental engineer working with the Township of Langley, a community that has been facing water scarcity issues due to a growing population. Langley is developing a Water Management Plan, which bolsters the community’s understanding of what is happening underground and how they can handle related issues.

“Under the Water Act, where there is a conflict between users or users and streams, a municipality can request the government to work with them on Water Management Plan.”

Badelt said that people tend to call the municipality for help with these issues, but he said that they haven’t been able to address them.

“It’s quite frustrating for people to have no recourse when their well dries up.”

The plan is being created in conjunction with the Ministry of the Environment and Agriculture.

He said that they receive calls from people who have used ground water for 20 to 30 years without incident, when they suddenly run out of water after a new neighbour moves in and drills a new well.

“Presumably someone is pumping so much water, they are depleting the aquifer,” said Badelt.

Currently there are no rules around how much a person can take, but Badelt said that they hope to begin protecting the water with the mandatory registration of wells.

“The next step might be drilling authorization,” he said.

Badelt said that larger wells would require an assessment of the potential consequences.

He said that they are several avenues they could take to manage the water, including mirroring surface water rights.

Badelt said stakeholders in Langley realize that something needs to be done, and that while everyone may take a hit, it’ll make for a better system over all.

“I think further down the line there is potential for an allocation system to have a water balance set up,” said Badelt.