8 News

Get rich or dry trying: the
Water Sustainability Act

Andrew Kenway
Team Member

Bo Columbia's lakes and rivers are one of its most valuable resources. With this
in mind, it might be a surprise to find out that much of BC's water protections and
regulations have been, until recently, relatively outdated; they were originally put into
place in 1909. Thankfully, for the first time in over a century something has been done.
It is called the new Water Sustainability Act (WSA). It is an effort to regulate British
Columbia's vast lakes and rivers that goes into effect in 2016. However, according to
the BC organization The WaterWealth Project, this may yet be grossly insufficient.
WaterWealth is an organization concerned with protection of our water. Its
declaration claims that as long as we take care of our water wealth, together we

will prosper. One powerful example that begs the need for reform is Nestle,
a company that has been taking millions of gallons of water from BC lakes
for no more than the cost of operation. Until, that is, the new act goes into
effect.

There are outraged cries that Nestle is taking water for free--they are
understandable, but not entirely correct. One Nestle representative
gladly pointed out that they are paying taxes for operating in British
Columbia, and employing 75 people at their plant. If you feel this is

a small price to pay, and that this deal may not be as beneficial for
the province as it is for Nestle, you're not alone. BC is not the only
example of Nestle's foreign operators. WaterWealth's website

points out is that the company is selling their product at a one
thousand percent profit out of a plant in California--a state
currently in the middle of a drought. To many, it might appear

that Nestle's best interests do not line up with those whose
resources they repurpose. Even when this act is in place,

Nestle will still be paying a mere $2.25 dollars per million

gallons of water. Whatever the company is paying to bottle

water in this volume is grossly insufficient, and doing little

to benefit the residents of BC to whom this water belongs.

The chairman of Nestle, Peter Brabeck-Lemathe,

proclaimed his opinion in a youtube video that water is

a foodstuff that should be privatized, not a human right.

Keeping in mind that water is one of the most essential

things proven to be a requirement of life as we know

it, this is a little unsettling. Perhaps he'll be coming out

for privatization of air in coming decades. One thing that

seems obvious is that as the world's population continues

to grow, BC's fresh water becomes increasingly valuable.
Protections like this new Water Sustainability Act are a mere
baby-step in the right direction, and if the issue isn't pushed
further soon, this seemingly limitless supply could be dried up

in centuries. If action is taken soon enough, perhaps the water will
remain treasured for its life-giving necessity rather than its scarcity.