WHEREAS sources of potable water are increasingly being lost due to contamination and overuse; AND WHEREAS water is vital to human life and must be protected: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM lobby both the provincial and federal governments to protect water aquifers and all bodies of potable water through the enactment of a national strategy that will ensure that Canadian water sources are protected and conserved so that all Canadians have access to clean water sources now and in the future.
Ministry of Environment The Province recognizes that water is vital to human life and ecosystem health. While source water protection is largely a provincial responsibility, water purveyors in British Columbia are responsible for the quality of potable water. Nationally, there are a number of resources available to jurisdictions that support source water protection. For example, through Health Canada, the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines are developed for both ground and surface water sources. In 2003, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment also published From Source to Tap: Guidance on the Multi-Barrier Approach to Safe Drinking Water. Both resources are used in British Columbia. There are currently no plans to develop a national water strategy with respect to protection of source water. The Province adopts the drinking water quality guidelines from Health Canada to guide decision-makers in protecting human health. The Province also adopts or develops water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life in source waters. In most instances, guidelines that protect aquatic life also protect human health. British Columbia is also developing a new Water Sustainability Act. Under a new Act, both new groundwater regulation and a number of tools will be enabled that will also support source water protection. For example, Provincial Water Objectives will require that decision makers consider the impacts of individual activities on water quality including drinking water. Where developed, Watershed Sustainability Plans will consider the impact of land-based activities on water and the watershed.