Water Application Fees

General Information

• The Water Act has established that fees and annual rentals will be applied to water use authorizations. The Water Regulation contains schedules for fees and annual rental rates.
• Application Fees (144kb) apply to an application for a new licence, an application to amend an existing licence or an approval to make short-term use of water.
• Fees are based on quantity of water and purpose of use (191kb) .
• A fee is also applied for an approval to make changes in and about a water source.
• The vast majority of water licences are for domestic and irrigation purposes. Other purposes include industrial, power, conservation, mining, stock watering and land improvement. Licences are also issued for storage.
• Fees are not applied to provincial or federal ministries or First Nations on Reserve land. Short-term water use approvals processed by the Oil and Gas Commission of British Columbia are also exempt from fees.

An annual water rent is applied to a water licence. For a short-term water use approval, the first year rent forms part of the fee (along with the purpose use charge mentioned previously).

A penalty charge (a percentage of overdue rental) is applied when the water annual water licence rent is not paid. A water licence may also be cancelled if outstanding charges are not paid.

Unofficial copies of the Water Act and the Water Regulation are available on the WSD legislation page.