Water Stewardship

Ground Water Resources of British Columbia

Chapter 12 — Management of Ground Water Resources in British Columbia

by

J.C. Foweraker, H. Foster and A.P. Kohut

12.1 INTRODUCTION

British Columbia possesses many important aquifers (Chapter 8, Figure 8.9) which are locally a viable and economic source of good quality water supply for individual and community water supply systems as well as for agricultural and industrial uses.

If the water supplies for Greater Victoria and Vancouver are excluded, then ground water sources supply approximately 25% of the total municipal water demand. Communities such as Keremeos, District of Langley, Merritt, Abbotsford, Vanderhoof, Lumby, Fort St. James and others have developed using low capital cost ground water supplies (Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia, 1985).

Agriculture and industry are the major users of ground water in the province and include irrigation, pulp and paper, fish hatcheries, food processing, mining, chemical, petrochemical, parks, airports etc. (Liebscher, 1987).'

12.2 THREATS TO GROUND WATER RESOURCES

Depletion of ground water supplies, conflicts between ground water users and surface water users, potential for ground water contamination are concerns that will become increasingly important as further aquifer development takes place in the province (Foweraker et al, 1985).

The consequences of aquifer depletion can lead to local water rationing, excessive reductions in yields, wells going dry or producing erratic ground water quality changes, changes in flow patterns of ground water resulting for example in the inflow of poorer quality water and sea water intrusion in coastal areas. Below normal ground water recharge to creeks and steams during low flow periods could result in reduced supplies for licensed surface water sources, and may prevent salmon from reaching spawning areas.

While ground water quality in British Columbia is generally very good, a growing number of local contamination problems are occurring. Examples of activities that have lead to ground water contamination are discussed in Chapter 5. In brief, incidents of nitrate concentrations have increased and in some areas have exceeded the maximum acceptable levels for drinking water standards. Leakage of gasoline from storage tanks and discharge to the ground of wood preservative from mill operations, leachate from landfill sites contaminating local aquifers, pesticide contamination and acid-mine drainage are some of the local ground water problems being experienced today in British Columbia.

12.3 GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

In British Columbia, water, including ground water is a resource vested in the Crown in right of the province and is managed by B.C. Environment. Permission to use surface water is obtained by license or approval issued under the Water Act. A water license, however, is not required to use ground water.

While there is no federal-provincial legislation directly related to protecting ground water or regulating its use, some measure of protection is afforded by the many acts, regulations, guidelines, bylaws, standards and objectives enacted over the years by federal, provincial and municipal levels of government.

Federal government ground water responsibilities relate to trans- boundary flows, federal lands, federal resources-fisheries etc. Work has been carried out since the mid 1950s through the Geological Survey of Canada and shortly after through Environment Canada. Hydrogeological work has included both research and operational investigations. During the early years (1950s to early 1960s) major activities in British Columbia involved ground water inventory and supply in the Lower Fraser Valley. Since the 1970s, most operational activities have focused on ground water contamination impact assessments relating primarily to federal interests (Liebscher, 1987).

Provincial statutes, regulations, objectives and guidelines provide a measure of control for concentrations of substances discharged to the ground and thus helps to preserve ground water quality. These include the Environmental Management Act, Pollution Control Objectives for Municipal Effluents and Industrial Wastes Discharges, and the Health Act. These provide restrictions on the location of discharges, quality of waste discharged, design and operation of treatment and disposal facilities and toxic and special substances transport. Some of these details are given in Chapter 5.

B.C. Environment, Ground Water Section undertakes a ground water program in cooperation with Regional Water Management offices. The program consists of inventory, monitoring, assessment of ground water supply capability, well drilling and testing projects, review of local and regional ground water conditions and source availability, ground water resource potential studies for river basin operational planning and review of pollution impact assessment reports. Technical advisory services and information on ground water availability are provided to the general public, industry and government agencies. A computerized data storage and retrieval system for ground water information has been developed and allows for direct regional access to the information bank in Victoria. Guidelines have been published, in cooperation with industry, the British Columbia Water Well Drilling Association, consulting firms specializing in ground water, government agencies and others, on minimum standards in water well construction for British Columbia (B.C. Environment, Ground Water Section, 1982; B.C. Environment, 1985).

The Water Utilities Act provides for provincial approval of the adequacy of sources of water supply including ground water for community water systems and the Health Act provides for checks on potability of public water supplies and special minimum distances between wells and potential sources of contamination (Section 42 of Sanitary Regulations, Health Act).

Municipal and Regional Districts pass bylaws to control land use or building construction and where there is a need to ensure that adequate ground water sources are available for future house owners, these regulations provide some control.

The well drilling industry and some ground water consulting firms provide information on well drilling and ground water projects to the Provincial government, B.C. Environment on a voluntary basis. There is no mandatory submission of all well log information or all ground water reports in the province.

Recently well drilling has been established as a trade and qualified journeyman drillers can be certified through the Ministry of Advanced Education and Job Training. The British Columbia Water Well Drilling Association has continued to press for legislative changes to make certification mandatory and also for other regulations pertaining to licensing and well construction standards.

The Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia has issued a policy statement and supporting brief on the need for more government action with regard to the preservation of ground water quality in British Columbia particularly with respect to point and non-point sources of contaminant discharge to the ground. The Association has pressed for more funding and the implementation of new and enhanced ground water programs including an inventory of aquifers, ground water quantity and quality information, and passage of legislation to control well drilling and ensure collection of well logs.

12.4 LONG-TERM GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT NEEDS

As discussed in Chapter 5 and in the above sections of this chapter, while there are many statutes and regulations etc. which provide some protection for ground water quantity and quality, there is no official recognition by the province through legislation for ground water to be designated as a resource with specific ground water laws to manage and protect it.

Long-term effective ground water management in this province will require legislation that is also coordinated and integrated with the various levels of government and interest groups involved with its management, protection, development and use and with those who have authority and jurisdiction over activities that impact on the resource.

Some considerations for long-term ground water management in British Columbia should include the following in addition to those recommendations given in Chapter 5 to protect ground water quality:

1. A comprehensive inventory of all ground water information available in this province. An accessible computerized data storage and retrieval system for this information. The information bank would be greatly assisted by the passage of ground water management legislation to control well drilling and to ensure the submission of all well logs for wells drilled in the province.
2. A comprehensive hydrogeological mapping program and synthesis of data aimed at determining: delineation of aquifers; classification of aquifers; probable sources of recharge to aquifers; quantities of ground water being extracted; and point and non-point sources of contaminant discharges which could reach aquifers.
3. Identification and focusing of local ground water protection programs on hydrogeologically sensitive aquifers as a priority where there is a specific need to do so.
4. Implementation of ground water legislation to help meet the long-term management needs discussed in this section and in Chapter 5.
5. Land use controls to prevent non-point sources of pollution to ground water should be implemented in areas underlain by shallow water table aquifers susceptible to pollution from surface sources.
6. Monitoring and analyses of ground water quantity and quality data, observation well networks, ground water withdrawals, forecasting of trends with time aided by computer analyses and modeling as required.
7. Coordinated management approach to both ground water and surface water issues.
8. Recognition of the importance of ground water resource management / protection through increased funding at Federal and Provincial levels for provincial priority research needs and new, enhanced and existing ground water programs.
9. Economic analyses, cost / benefit studies to facilitate the implementation of controversial ground water management / protection proposals and programs where required.
10. Studies to evaluate the long-term human health implications, both positive and negative, of various substances which are found in ground waters presently being used for human consumption in this province.
11. Public involvement, information meetings, media coverage should be encouraged particularly at the local level on ground water issues. A program which makes provision for the initiation of ground water management studies at the local level is desirable to focus activities on demonstrated needs.

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