Tapped Out: A Special Report on Water Scarcity and Water Solutions in British Columbia

Tapped Out: A Special Report on Water Scarcity and Water Solutions in British Columbia

Watershed Watch has just released a new report on water scarcity in B.C.: Tapped Out: A Special Report on Water Scarcity and Water Solutions in British Columbia.

According to this report,

“2.9 million British Columbians live in areas where water shortages are likely to be a serious problem in the coming years. Water shortages will also hurt endangered salmon runs, compounding the many other threats they face.All over the province, communities are already experiencing water shortages, and low water levels in many rivers threaten the survival of salmon. With a growing population and a warming climate, the stress on our rivers and salmon is only going to get worse. Tapped Out describes the scale of water stress across British Columbia, identifying areas likely to experience water shortages, and offers concrete solutions for how to tackle this imminent crisis.”

This report lays out some concrete actions governments should take,

  • step up monitoring of our water sources;
  • to make good on their obligation to regulate groundwater extraction;
  • to better protect water flows for fish; and
  • to better support communities and First Nations to manage their local waters.

Salmon Societies Watershed Watch’s next goal is to get Tapped Out into the hands of decision-makers and  collaborate with their partners to pursue these actions.