It falls from the sky, runs through our rivers, and comes out of our taps, but the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (PFRCC) cautions that people should be treating good, old fashioned water as a scarce resource.

Last week the PFRCC released their report called Freshwater for Fish and People: Moving Towards ‘Living Water Smart’, a document which outlines concerns for the future of the province’s water supply and potential ways water use can be mitigated.

Mark Angelo, PFRCC chair, said that water supply should be a concern no matter where in the province you are.

“The main points that are made in the paper applies [to the north] because in any stream if water is excessively withdrawn in any location, that can occur at the expense of fish.”

Attention needs to be paid, particularly in light of the recent hot summer, said Angelo. Hot weather, combined with changes in the climate all highlights the need to manage water.

Within the nation, British Columbia has the highest consumption of water, he continued.

“On average we all use well over 300 litres per day,” he said.

Rivers are under pressure all over the province. “The ministry of Environment just moved the other day to curtail all water extractions on the Nicola river, as an example,” said Angelo.

The threat to fish applies to anywhere in the province, not just in the drier climates.

“Anywhere, whether you’re in a part of the province with high precipitation or low precipitation, if in fact there is excessive water extraction on top of low flows that can compound the situation and really put fish in jeopardy.”

There are two ways that water levels play into fish survival.

“Low flows can result in reduction in habitat. Low flows can result in higher water temperatures, and all those things can be damaging to fish,” he said.

One of the first steps towards dealing with our water resource is to update the B.C. Waters Act, one of the oldest acts on the books, said Angelo.

The act, as it is, deals almost exclusively with water licensing with extraction and little to do with maintaining habitat.

The government, through the Living Water Smart initiative, has stated their intention over next few years to update the act but PFRCC report emphasizes doing it as quickly as possible.

What the PFRCC really wants to see is more balance in water management.

“Under the existing act, traditionally, the needs of fish have taken a back seat to the withdrawal of water from streams for other purposes,” said Angelo. “I think we need a more balanced situation.”

Initiatives the government could look into, he said, are things like water metering (as opposed to flat rates) and sliding scales where higher consumers pay more.

More efficient irrigation systems are also something PFRCC wants to encourage.

Conservation is still something that can take place at home as well and there are many options people can pursue to minimize water use. Those include installing low-flow water fixtures and reducing the length of showers.

“When you look at the amount of water we use per person there’s lots of possibilities to utilize water more efficiently,” said Angelo. “We should treat it [water] as an increasingly scarce resource.”