Buried Treasure: Groundwater Permitting and Pricing in Canada

1
Buried Treasure Groundwater Permitting and
Pricing in Canada

• By Linda Nowlan for the Walter and Duncan Gordon
  Foundation

2
Waterrich, Knowledge-poor?

• Despite Canada being a comparatively water-rich
  country, groundwater hot spots are starting to
  emerge, knowledge is limited

3
Groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin- Signs of
Stress

• US Geological Survey (USGS) 2004 study
• For the first time groundwater pumping reversed
  the direction of flow away from Lake Michigan,
  one of the Great Lakes that represents the
  largest concentration of unfrozen fresh surface
  water in the western hemisphere.
• Groundwater pumping affects one of worlds
  largest water basins at the centre of Canadas
  two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec.

4
Great Lakes

• International Joint Commission 2000 report says
  Canada lags behind US in groundwater data
  collection and monitoring.

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Buried Treasure Contents

• 5 chapters
• 1.      Groundwater science
• 2.      Groundwater allocation law
• 3.      A comparison of provincial and
  territorial groundwater permitting requirements
• 4.      A comparison of public participation
  opportunities in groundwater permitting, and
• 5. A comparison of groundwater pricing
  requirements

• 3 case studies
• How Well Do We Understand Groundwater in Canada?
  A Science Case Study,
• Groundwater Use in Canada, and
• Groundwater Pricing Policies in Canada

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Case Study 1 - How Well Do We Understand
Groundwater in Canada? A Science Case Study, by
Alfonso Rivera

• Overview of groundwater quantity in Canada, 2004,
  based on 12 completed regional aquifers
  assessments of of Natural Resources Canada
• Summarizes state of scientific knowledge about
  the countrys aquifers
• No evidence to date of decreasing volumes or
  declining supplies
• But Canada does not yet have complete knowledge
  of its groundwater resources

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Data on Groundwater Remain Scarce In Canada

• Groundwater resources of Canada may be larger
  than all surface waters (rivers, lakes) combined
• Nature, extent, sustainability, and vulnerability
  of these resources virtually unknown on a
  national scale
• Groundwater estimated to supply
• 82 of the countrys rural population
• 43 of agricultural needs
• 14 of industry needs

8
Groundwater Use in Canada

• 8.9 million Canadians, or 30.3 of the
  population, rely on groundwater for domestic use.
  
• Approx. 2/3 of these users live in rural areas.
• Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia are the
  biggest users of municipal groundwater.

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Groundwater Use in Canada

• Quebec has the greatest number of municipal
  systems reliant on groundwater (142)
• Ontario has the highest population dependent on
  groundwater (1.3 million)
• PEI has greatest level of dependence (100)

10
Reliance on Groundwater
11
Groundwater Allocation Law

• Derived from English common law.
• Groundwater and surface water treated differently
  due to lack of scientific understanding of the
  hydrologic cycle.
• Riparian rights, rule of capture.

12
Groundwater Allocation Law (2)

• Provincial licensing provisions extended to
  groundwater in Ontario only in 1961, and to
  prairie provinces in the 1970s.
• Regulators now recognize that all waters should
  be treated as interconnected system
• Difficult due to multiple ministries and numerous
  laws.

13
Groundwater Permitting Multiple Jurisdictions

• Provinces have the primary role
• Federal government also has legislative and
  proprietary powers, eg important where aquifers
  cross provincial or international boundaries

• Local governments require a permit from the
  province for water takings to supply their own
  systems. Local land use decisions affect
  groundwater
• Evolving Aboriginal water rights will affect
  groundwater management

14
Criteria for Issuing Groundwater Permits Varies
Across Canada

• Most striking variables
• Existence of permitting system (BC still lacks
  any general licensing requirement for
  groundwater).
• Source protection plans no jurisdiction has
  fully adopted source protection plans as
  recommended by Justice OConnor in the Walkerton
  Inquiry.
• Environmental impacts of groundwater withdrawals
  addressed to varying degrees cumulative impacts
  and protection of the natural ecosystem during
  licensing decisions, conservation requirements,
  and instream or environmental flow protection.

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Other Permitting Variables

• Duration of extraction permits ranges from 1 to
  25 years or even in perpetuity
• Domestic use usually exempt but definition
• of domestic use varies, e.g.,
• Saskatchewan allows watering 300 head of
  livestock
• Alberta exempts saline gw diversions

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Quantity Exemptions for Water Licensing
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ON/BC ComparisonReliance and Use

• Date licensing applied to g/w
• BC no reqt for g/w license, ON 1961
• Population reliant on groundwater
• (Number) 1996 data
• BC 1 105 803 ON 3 166 662
• (Percent)
• BC 28.5 ON 28.5
• Groundwater use as of total water use
• in province current data
• BC 10 ON 2.5

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ON/BC Comparison -Numbers

• Number of wells
• BC 100,000, ON approx. 500,000
• Total number of g/w permits
• BC - 0, ON - 2,800
• Threshold for permit
• BC EA Act applies if well could extract
  groundwater at 75 litres or more per second.
• ON - Permit required for extraction of more than
  50,000 litres/day

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ON/BC Comparison - Public Notice and Participation

• Reporting requirements
• BC - N/A ( no licensing)
• ON - now discretionary, soon will be mandatory
• Participation opportunities in permit decision
  making process
• BC - no, except when EA procedures apply
• ON - yes, EBR requires notice

20
ON/BC Comparison Environmental Impacts of
Groundwater Extraction

• Ontarios criteria for issuing a water-taking
  permit are the most detailed.
• Recent amendments address protection of the
  natural functions of the ecosystem, water
  availability, and water use (including the impact
  on water balance and sustainable aquifer yield).
  
• A permit application may also be refused if the
  proposed water taking is in a high-use watershed.

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Groundwater Pricing -

• Pricing may encourage conservation, yet Canadian
  jurisdictions remain reluctant to charge for
  water use, or to charge enough to even cover the
  costs of infrastructure.
• Six of the 13 provinces and territories charge
  for groundwater extraction Manitoba,
  Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Yukon, Northwest
  Territories, and Nunavut.
• Where fees are collected, prices range from
  0.01143.77 per million litres.

22
Public Participation in Groundwater Decision
Making

• Public participation opportunities included in
  the permit decision-making process in only 6 of
  the 13 Canadian jurisdictions.
• However, many provinces require environmental
  assessment of projects with significant
  groundwater impacts, which allow public
  participation

23
Access to Information

• USGS first conducted water-use compilations in
  1950, published every 5 years
• In US fresh groundwater withdrawals during 2000
  were 14 more than during 1985
• No comparable country-wide data compilations
  exist for Canada
• No province in Canada has a central user-friendly
  database with all data on water extractions,
  water quality, and quantity indicators

24
Water Bottling

• Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec,
• New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador
  all track allocations for bottled water
  operations.
• Though water bottling is not a high-volume use,
  unlike some other uses it is 100 consumptive a
  factor to be considered when evaluating use and
  impacts.

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Prohibiting Extraction

• 3 provinces have issued moratoria for some or all
  of their groundwater withdrawals (Man and PEI
  temporary and geographically limited)
• Ontarios moratorium applied to new water
  bottling operations and other takings that
  removed water from a watershed in southern ON
• Moratorium regulation lifted in December 2004

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Opposition to Water Bottling in Ontario - Case
Study

• Residents opposed water bottling plant concerned
  about impacts of the proposed taking of 500,000
  litres of water/day on a wetland and a fish
  stream
• Citizens had to
• Challenge a water-taking permit
• Appeal to an administrative tribunal
• Amend plans and zoning bylaws to prohibit
  commercial water taking as a land use

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Artemisia Case Study , Cont.

• Seek judicial review of the Municipal Boards
  finding in favour of the company
• Artemesia Waters Ltd denied permission to build
  its water storage plant on agricultural land near
  Owen Sound, Ontario
• Case shows importance of local land use plans -
  even where a provincial permit exists, a
  municipality may still turn down commercial water
  taking operations

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Buried Treasure

• Please visit the website for the report, summary,
  and full case studies
• www.buriedtreasurecanada.ca

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Buried Treasure

• Sponsored by the
• Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation
• Canada
• www.gordonfn.org