Environmental Trends 2002

Status and Trends in Water Use

Percentage of Licensed Stream Length that has Water Allocation Restrictions by Decade

SOURCE: Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, 2001. NOTES: Each bar represents the percentage of licensed stream length that had water allocation restrictions during that decade. The bar for 2000 represents the percentage of licensed stream length that had allocation restrictions during 2000 and 2001. The word “stream” covers all freshwater in British Columbia including rivers and lakes. Restrictions apply to all water upstream of the restriction.

Status and trends in water use

• The provincial government places water allocation restrictions on streams when the demand for new water licenses threatens the human and non-human users of the water supply.

• The percentage of licensed stream length that has water allocation restrictions is indicative of the intensity of water use in the province, pressures on water supply and the intensity of water management that is required to maintain that water supply.

• Approximately 28% of licensed stream length in the province is currently restricted and has been since the 1990s.

• Water use restrictions have been increasing since the 1920s with the biggest rise in restrictions occurring during the 1980s. This is likely due to the recognition of instream flow requirements for fish. Prior to the 1980s, generally only human requirements received consideration.

• Stream restrictions are used as a management tool to ensure that water supply in the province is maintained. Restrictions may range from including minimum fish flow clauses in a water license, to suspending the issuance of any further licenses on a water body.

Why is it important?

• Water is recognized as natural capital, a resource that increases the well being and natural wealth of a nation.

• Water has numerous and often competing users. These include human uses such as agriculture, recreation, industry processes and waste disposal; domestic uses, including drinking water; and non-human uses such as habitat for aquatic organisms.

• While British Columbia is perceived to have an abundance of water, it is not always accessible. The majority of new license applications are for water bodies with existing licenses.

• Demand for water influences stream flows and water levels. Demand tends to be highest in summer, when water supplies are usually at their lowest.

• Since 1950, the global renewable freshwater supply per person has fallen 58% as the world’s population increased from 2.5 to 6 billion.

For detailed information, including graph data, see In-Depth report [pdf].