Whereas British Columbia communities are facing rapidly increasing pressures to watershed security, including climate-fueled droughts, landslides, floods and wildfires, the cumulative impacts of industrial development as well as privately owned managed forest land in our watersheds; And whereas increased and sustained funding is required for local governments to provide safe, sustainable drinking water for communities, and to work in active partnership with First Nations to improve watershed governance and management to address the challenges we are facing in our watersheds: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Province of BC and the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Management dedicate at least 10 of the revenue collected from provincial water rental fees to support watershed security at the local level; And be it further resolved that water rental fees for large industrial water users be increased to make this a revenue-neutral solution for the Province.
Ministry of Water Land and Resource Stewardship Thank you for your resolution requesting the Province dedicate 10 percent of revenue collected from provincial water rental fees to support local watershed security initiatives and to focus on increasing the water rental fees of industrial water users specifically. The current water rental rates were last updated in 2016 when the Water Sustainability Act WSA and the associated Water Sustainability Fees, Rentals and Charges Tariff Regulation came into effect. These rate changes were informed by extensive public engagement and guided by seven principles including fairness, equity, administrative cost recovery, and support for the economy. The Province planned to review water rental rates every five years starting in 2021 but postponed the review to incorporate feedback gathered through engagement on watershed security and to avoid increasing financial pressure on water users during the pandemic. The Province is developing options to update water rental rates charged under the WSA, however the timeline for decision and possible implementation are still under consideration at the time of this response. If changes are implemented, the Province could also consider dedicating a portion of the revenues created towards watershed security. Key considerations guiding developing a balanced approach to setting provincial water rental rates include encouraging water conservation through water pricing, ensuring water remains accessible and affordable to all citizens, assessing impacts of rental changes on British Columbias business competitiveness and minimizing impacts to the affordability of living in BC.