Groundwater resource allocation in British Columbia: Challenges and ways forward

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorAllen, Diana
dc.contributor.authorGleeson, Tom
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-22T16:20:50Z
dc.date.available2025-09-22T16:20:50Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractGroundwater allocation in British Columbia is facing several important challenges. Groundwater is licensed under the Water Sustainability Act and potentially included in modern treaties. These challenges include acknowledging the importance of groundwater in supporting environmental flowneeds and human water use, the uncertainty and misconceptions surrounding annual recharge estimates, and the under-appreciated importance of aquifer drainage, while tackling cumulative impacts in watersheds using adaptive management with clear sustainability goals. This article summarizes these challenges and suggests ways forward so that we can more robustly, holistically, and sustainably allocate groundwater resources. This includes some evidenced-based suggestions that are alreadymbeing implemented partially or in some regions. Not implementing these suggestions risks permanent over-allocation of groundwater resources that would impact stream ecology, endanger rural livelihoods, and challenge reconciliation with First Nations. Keywords: groundwater allocation, groundwater resources, water management, water policy, climate change
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelFaculty
dc.identifier.citationAllen, D., & Gleeson, T. (2023). Groundwater Resource Allocation in British Columbia: Challenges and Ways Forward. Confluence: Journal of Watershed Science and Management, 6(1), 15 pp. https://doi.org/10.22230/jwsm.2023v6n1a49
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.22230/jwsm.2023v6n1a49
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/22779
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherConfluence: Journal of Watershed Science and Management
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-ND 4.0
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectclimate change
dc.subjectgroundwater allocation
dc.subjectgroundwater resources
dc.subjectwater management
dc.subjectwater policy
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Civil Engineering
dc.titleGroundwater resource allocation in British Columbia: Challenges and ways forward
dc.typeArticle

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
allen_diana_confluence_2023.pdf
Size:
2.57 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Faculty and Staff Publications
 
University of Victoria Libraries

We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.