Nestle shares a lot of the same views as its critics
Like all Canadians, we want to preserve our natural resources for generations to come. Recently, there has been considerable discussion in B.C. about the future sustainability of groundwater, with some saying commercial users like us will pay too little for the water we draw when the Water Sustainability Act is enacted in January 2016.
In response, the government of B.C. announced last week that it will review the currently proposed fee schedule, a decision we support. There are also a number of other areas where we share similar views with our critics.
We believe that groundwater should be protected for everyone’s enjoyment and use.
We fully agree that all commercial and municipal groundwater users should pay their fair share to fund the management of our water resources in a sustainable way.
We support the perspective that the program to protect groundwater should be fully funded by its users and not subsidized by other taxpayers.
We also value the fact that the regulation will include mapping the province’s watersheds, require groundwater users to report their draws annually and help to fund common infrastructure that distributes water where it is needed.
Beyond these attributes, the new act is resource-sustaining because it places a value on water use, which will help to preserve the availability of groundwater for the long term. However, the question has been raised: Is the assessed value too low?
This particular aspect of the new legislation may prove difficult to reconcile because there are clearly differing views. We respect those views and will continue to work alongside all stakeholders and the government as they work through this issue.
One of the reasons why the fees are lower relative to some other Canadian provinces is that the B.C. legislation captures more groundwater users than other jurisdictions do. Thus, the costs to administer and enforce the act are spread over more users, making the resulting fees per user less.
Municipal-system users pay a higher rate for water use today than B.C. groundwater users will because their fee includes all costs associated with water purification and distribution, including water and sewer infrastructure construction, operation and repair. Those costs are borne directly by groundwater users, as they must fund and manage their own waterquality and delivery systems and, thus, are assessed accordingly.
We are confident that, should the funding required to properly manage the B.C. program fall short, the government will course-correct and higher fees will be set to resolve this situation. We will engage with the government to help ensure this is done.
The act is progressive in its management of the province’s most vital resource and it would be unfortunate if this recognition was lost in the current discussion over fees. There are precedent-setting measures coming into place through this legislation that will preserve and protect the nine watersheds across the province that contain our most vital resource.
As a commercial groundwater user we fully support the Water Sustainability Act and will continue to work with the government and all stakeholders to ensure it meets our collective vision — that of protecting the resource in B.C. for the enjoyment and sustainable use by its citizens for generations to come.