Buried Treasure: Groundwater Permitting and Pricing in Canada
In March 2005, the Gordon Foundation released Buried Treasure: Groundwater Permitting and Pricing in Canada. In this groundbreaking and comprehensive report, author Linda Nowlan examined the state of practice of groundwater regulation across the country.
The report was developed to fill a significant data gap and provide a base of knowledge on provincial and territorial permitting practices. It begins by noting that Canada is "water-rich and knowledge poor". Groundwater supplies an estimated 82% of the country's rural population, 43% of agricultural needs and 14% of industrial needs. About 8.9 million Canadians, or 30% of the population, rely on groundwater for domestic use. Despite the abundance of groundwater - it is likely that we have more groundwater than surface water in total - our knowledge of the resource is limited and groundwater "hot spots" are starting to emerge.
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The report provides an overview of the complex legislative and jurisdictional framework for managing groundwater in Canada. It also details the great variation in permitting policies and practices across the country. One province - British Columbia - still lacks any general licensing requirement for groundwater. The duration of water taking permits varies across the country from 1 year to perpetuity. The quantity exemptions for water licensing vary from no exemption in Newfoundland to less than 50,000 litres/day in Ontario. The pricing of groundwater also varies significantly: seven jurisdictions charge nothing |
In January 2006, the Foundation hosted a Groundwater Permitting Workshop that was attended by a diverse group of groundwater experts representing provincial regulators, federal departments, environmental law organizations, academic institutions, and other organizations. The goal of the Workshop was to examine the characteristics of provincial groundwater permitting systems, and to identify best practices for permitting and explore possibilities for coordination and improvement.
The Workshop Report, Buried Treasure publication and other related resources can be found at www.buriedtreasurecanada.org