British Columbia’s watersheds are the source of our health, well-being and natural wealth. They are envy of the world.
But our watersheds are under threat–droughts, fires and floods are adding to existing threats like contamination, loss of wetlands and fish habitat, and industrial resource extraction.
It’s time to take bold action to secure and sustain our critical fresh water sources, forever.
Thanks to the tireless advocacy of thousands of British Columbians, the BC government is moving towards the creation of a BC Watershed Security Strategy, and a PERMANENT BC Watershed Security Fund.
YOU have helped make this happen, and we can't afford to let up until we see real on-the-ground improvements in the health of BC's watersheds.
The CodeBlue BC Plan has 3 parts:
1. Get tough on water wasters and polluters
Responsible resource development does NOT degrade our watersheds. Our rules and laws should not allow companies to waste, overuse or contaminate our fresh water.
It’s time to get WAY tougher on any company that threatens the health or security of our critical watersheds–it’s time for stronger rules, better enforcement, and serious consequences for anyone who can't do business without degrading our fresh water sources.
And if big industry extracts billions of dollars from our resources and flees the scene, BC taxpayers shouldn’t be stuck with the clean-up bill. We need to make industry pay to clean up its mess with a new system of damage deposits and real penalties for any company that degrades our watersheds.
2. Give local people the power to restore and manage their local water sources
Important decisions about the health of local watersheds should be made by local people, not by far away bureaucrats or private industry.
There are too many examples in BC where critical community water sources are threatened and degraded by industrial activities that get approved by people without any stake in the local watershed.
We need better watershed management in BC, which gives local people, including First Nations, the authority, training and funding they need to secure, restore, and monitor the health of their local watersheds.
3. Establish a permanent source of watershed security funding for BC
We have a lot of watershed issues in BC, and they’re not going away any time soon. We need to be planning for the long-term health and security of our freshwater sources. This means serious and permanent funding for BC’s watershed security.
Thanks to recent BC Government watershed investments, we now have proof that watershed funding will create good jobs in every corner of the province. And we know that investments in healthy watersheds and restored wetlands make us safer from climate-fueled disasters like floods, fires and droughts, all while improving fish and wildlife habitat, and at a fraction of the cost of building more concrete walls.
This work is too urgent and important for political games–we need a PERMANENT Watershed Security Fund, so that the health of our watersheds is a top priority no matter what government gets elected in BC. Because water is life, and there is no time (or water) to waste.