Fair Water Rates for Secure Watersheds

Across British Columbia, our rivers, aquifers, wetlands, and watersheds are under growing pressure. Climate change is intensifying droughts, shrinking snowpacks, and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.

Private property owners are carrying an unfair share of the costs through rising insurance rates and property taxes that fund water infrastructure, drought response, flood protection, and repairs to damaged ecosystems. Meanwhile, large industrial users pay extremely low rates for the water they use. 

It’s a system that asks households to pay the most, while the biggest users pay the least.

TAKE ACTION: Send a message to decision-makers – ask them to increase industrial water rates and invest the funds in watershed security. 

End BC’s Great Water Giveaway

The BC Watershed Security Coalition is a province-wide alliance advocating for sustainable funding and policies to protect and restore BC’s watersheds. 

The Sunshine Coast Conservation Association (SCCA) is a core member of the Coalition. We have been part of the coalition since its inception and value the collaborative, solutions-focused work it brings to watershed protection across the province.

As the provincial budget approaches, the coalition is calling for a simple, practical solution: modernize and increase industrial water rates, and invest the revenue into watershed security.

Why this matters now

The BC government is preparing its budget amid warnings of cuts to public spending. 

The coalition is highlighting a clear, fair, and fiscally responsible alternative: ensure that large industrial water users pay a more appropriate price for the resource they use, and dedicate those funds to protecting watersheds.

Increasing industrial water rates is a practical step that can generate stable, long-term funding for watershed protection, restoration, monitoring, and climate adaptation across the province.

A fair, new revenue stream for watershed security

Increasing industrial water rates is not a new tax on the public. It is a practical way to create a new, dedicated revenue stream from the largest commercial water users—many of whom currently pay extremely low rates for the resource they rely on.

This approach does not increase costs for households, small businesses, or local governments. Instead, it ensures that the biggest industrial users pay a fairer price for the water they use, and that those funds are reinvested directly into protecting and restoring the watersheds that supply our communities.

For everyday residents, this is about fairness and long-term cost savings. Without stable watershed funding, the costs of drought, infrastructure damage, and ecosystem decline are often passed on to taxpayers and water ratepayers. 

A dedicated industrial water revenue stream helps reduce those risks while supporting healthier rivers, aquifers, and forests.

Momentum is building.

Across BC, thousands of people are already taking action. 

More than 2,000 letters have been sent and over 100 calls made to MLAs urging the province to modernize industrial water rates. More than 46 local government officials have also signed a letter calling on the province to invest in watershed security.

This growing support shows that communities across British Columbia recognize the importance of protecting the freshwater systems we all depend on.

Why this really matters for the Sunshine Coast

For SCCA members, supporters, and partners, this campaign is directly connected to the conservation work happening on the ground across the Sunshine Coast.

Modernizing industrial water rates would help fund the campaigns and projects the SCCA works on every day, including:

• Protection of drinking water source areas 
• Climate-resilient forest management 
• Fish habitat restoration
• Community-based watershed planning, research, and monitoring

These are the kinds of on-the-ground projects that protect biodiversity, strengthen climate resilience, and safeguard local drinking water. Addressing downstream impacts of industrial activity, including flooding, erosion, damaged infrastructure, and degraded fish habitat

For residents and local governments, the stakes are immediate. The Sunshine Coast depends on healthy watersheds for drinking water, recreation, food security, and economic stability. In recent years, we have experienced extended summer droughts, declining streamflows, and increasing pressure on our aquifers. At the same time, local governments and taxpayers are left to manage the costs of infrastructure, drought management, flooding, and watershed degradation.

First Nations are leading and co-leading watershed stewardship and restoration efforts, grounded in deep cultural, legal, and governance relationships with the land and water. Dedicated watershed security funding can support Indigenous-led stewardship and co-governance initiatives that advance reconciliation while protecting ecosystems for future generations.

Healthy watersheds are also one of our strongest defences against the climate crisis. Intact forests, wetlands, and floodplains store carbon, regulate streamflows, reduce flood and drought risks, and provide habitat for countless species—helping address both the biodiversity crisis and the climate emergency.

Take action before February 17 – Budget Day

Take one minute to help secure fair water rates and healthy watersheds across British Columbia.

1. Send a message to decision-makers:
   https://www.watershedsecurity.ca/take-action
2. Call your MLA:
   https://watershedsecurity.ca/home/take-action/call-your-mla/
3. Are you a local elected official?
   Ask your council or board to sign the open letter calling for action on watershed security: https://watershedsecurity.ca/open-letter-46-local-government-elected-officials-calling-for-action-to-strengthen-watershed-security/

Want to learn more about this issue?
Visit the CodeBlueBC campaign website: https://codebluebc.ca 

Or explore this interactive site showing how industrial water use is priced in BC: https://whosucks.ca