The Cowichan River, which saw hundreds of young salmon and trout die last month, on Vancouver Island, B.C, Canada on Aug. 14. The river, a renowned fly-fishing destination, is suffering from the effects of climate change, including a low water level and high water temperatures.ALANA PATERSON/The New York Times News Service
The often rain-soaked Lower Mainland of British Columbia may seem an odd locale for a debate over water rationing but, come summer, the lush coast is transformed into a brittle and brown landscape.
Much of the province is under a severe drought warning, including large swathes of the perennially parched Interior, but also the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. In the age of climate change, water is an increasingly scarce resource, even in a region of temperate rainforests.
But old habits die hard, including the tradition of giving away water for next to nothing. The Globe and Mail recently reported on the move to rethink the ultra-low rates B.C. charges to industrial water users. They are laughably minuscule, and evermore so as drought becomes an annual hazard.
British Columbia charges a maximum of $2.25 per million litres of water. For a bottled-water company, that is a microscopic input cost: 0.000225 cents for a one-litre bottle of water. B.C. has not increased its fee structure since 2016, and it is a fraction of the $500 per million litres in Ontario.
Commercial water users, in theory, are limited to the volume of water on the licence they are granted. But experts say the province doesn’t enforce those quotas.
The situation is scarcely better for residential water use. There are seasonal water restrictions imposed, including bans on lawn watering, laid out in seven pages of detailed regulations. Yet there isn’t much of a financial incentive to reduce water use in the Greater Vancouver Water District (which includes the City of Vancouver and 22 other municipalities and local entities). There are large differences between municipalities, but according to the most recent public data, on average 64 per cent of water connections – overwhelmingly residential users – don’t have water meters, with customers paying a flat fee.
Get caught watering your lawn at the wrong time of day and you could be slapped with a hefty fine. But feel free to keep the shower running for as long as you wish. And no need to fret about a dripping tap.
Regulations restricting water use have a role to play in conservation, particularly during a crisis such as severe drought. But the Lower Mainland is ignoring one of the most powerful tools it could use to push down water consumption permanently over time: prices. The Metro Vancouver Regional District, which is in charge of the region’s utility services, is in favour of residential metering, but the decision is ultimately up to individual local governments.
Consider the case of Calgary. It had to overcome the political hurdle of convincing homeowners that paying for water use was a necessary reform, deciding in 2002 that all residential customers would have to have water meters by 2014, and setting the goal of cutting water use substantially by 2033.
Twenty years ago, Calgarians used 518 litres of water per capita a day (including residential, commercial and industrial users), significantly above the 2033 per capita target of 350 litres. Last year, however, per capita consumption had dropped to 351 litres – basically hitting the long-term goal a decade ahead of schedule.
Not all of that is owing to pricing, but Calgary’s success shows how putting a price on a resource previously perceived as free can accelerate changes in conservation. Metro Vancouver points to Calgary’s experience as a reason to expand water metering in British Columbia.
The Lower Mainland faces a similar challenge in reducing water use. A 2016 study estimated that residential water consumption will need to fall between 21 and 25 per cent by 2036 if the region is to avoid the considerable expense of adding infrastructure to its water reservoir system.
The Greater Vancouver area has cut water consumption, but industrial and commercial users have outpaced residential customers in that reduction. That gap is particularly pronounced in summer months. From 2010 to 2021, the region as a whole reduced water use by 19 per cent in those dry months; residential consumption fell by just 13 per cent.
The mystery isn’t hard to unravel: the vast majority of residential users don’t pay more as they use more – making water essentially free.
Market forces aren’t always the solution to the challenges of climate change; regulations have a role to play, including in water conservation. But pricing can be a powerful incentive – and is ultimately far more pervasive and persuasive than well-meaning rules, however many pages they run to.