Imagine you’re watering your garden on a hot summer day when suddenly, a murder of crows begins dive bombing, mistaking you for someone who has wronged them in the past. In a panic, you drop the hose and cower inside your home. After recovering from this ordeal, you leave your house for a well-deserved, 35-day vacation. When you return, you realize that you left the hose running the whole time. Your plants have drowned, your basement is flooded and your water bill is charging you for 1 million litres of water. If you live in Richmond, that bill would cost you $1,660! Oh my.

But if a major company in BC wasted 1 million litres of water, sometimes polluting it forever with toxic chemicals and removing it from the water cycle, they would pay a maximum of just $2.25. That’s how cheap industrial water use is in our province. Many industries don’t even have to report how much they use.

BC Has Fallen Behind

BC hasn’t updated industrial water rates in over a decade, leaving the province with one of the lowest prices for water across Canada. Meanwhile, Quebec charges at least $36 per million litres, and uses that money to restore watersheds — rebuilding fish habitat, defending communities from floods, and preventing droughts and wildfires.

There’s no reason BC can’t do the same. It’s an easy win, and it’s the responsible thing to do.

Watershed Security Is Community Security

BC’s Watershed Security Fund is already proving what’s possible. It supports projects that restore wild salmon habitats, upgrade flood infrastructure, and help communities prepare for the scary new realities of our changing climate.

But funding has fallen to just $5 million per year, while experts say $100 million is needed. Communities across BC have shovel-ready projects that could restore creeks, rebuild wetlands, and recharge aquifers — but the province is only meeting a fraction of the need.

That’s not enough to keep our rivers, communities and wild salmon safe.

A Growing Watershed Workforce

The watershed sector supports 47,000 jobs and contributes $5 billion to BC’s economy, which is comparable to the mining sector. Healthy watersheds don’t just sustain salmon; they sustain agriculture, clean energy, tourism, and local businesses. Our economy and our people depend on healthy watersheds and clean water. 

A Precious Resource Deserves a Fair Price

Raising industrial water rates is a simple, fair, and responsible way to fund the work our watersheds need. Every drop we save, every creek we restore, strengthens the foundation of our communities and our economy. The BC government needs to stop letting this important revenue source flow through their fingers, and stop giving BC's biggest water wasters and polluters a nearly-free ride.

Tell the BC Government: It’s Time to Get Serious About Water

BC’s fresh water is our shared natural wealth, the lifeblood of salmon, communities, and every living thing that calls this province home — even those darn crows. It’s time for the government to charge fair rates for industrial water use and invest that money in the health of our watersheds.

Send a message to your MLA today.