Editor,
Water is a necessity of life.
In British Columbia, we are blessed with an abundance of freshwater. The job of the provincial government is to enact laws and govern the province for the good of all its people.
The government of British Columbia needs to protect and conserve our groundwater aquifers for the benefit of all the people in the province.
The government needs to stop approving groundwater licences for bottling and commercial sale that benefit only a few individuals and corporations, while putting the water security of thousands of other British Columbians at risk. We just experienced the driest month of May on record, and over the past few years we have experienced longer, hotter, and drier summer drought periods. In the face of this climate change, and in the face of population growth, our groundwater aquifer resources are under increasing pressure and people who rely on those aquifers for their only source of water are concerned about their wells running dry.
The government must take firm measures to protect and conserve our groundwater aquifers for the people of British Columbia who they serve now, and for our children and grandchildren in the future.
The people of British Columbia must demand that the provincial government of British Columbia take immediate action to stop approving groundwater aquifer licences for bottling and commercial sale to ensure we all have access to good, clean water for our personal needs, to grow our backyard gardens and to supply the farms that grow our food.
Please encourage your local MLA to support this cause, and seek out and sign a petition asking the provincial government to immediately stop approval of groundwater licences under the Water Sustainability Act for the bottling and commercial sale of groundwater from our aquifers.
Bruce Gibbons,
Merville, B.C.