VICTORIA, B.C. – As British Columbia faces scorching heat, drought, and wildfire evacuations, the demand for water conservation and corporate accountability intensifies. BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau is calling on the BC NDP to raise fees on companies using billions of litres of fresh water in fracking operations, prioritizing this scarce resource for physical, food, and economic security.

“While this government is asking British Columbians to take shorter showers, oil and gas companies are getting away with taking billions of litres of water almost for free,” said Furstenau. “They pay $2.25 per million litres, less than the cost of a cup of coffee. It’s astonishing that water, something so essential, is undervalued to this extent.

“For too long, B.C.’s public resources have been exploited for corporate gain. It’s time to change that.”

Under the BC NDP, B.C. has seen irresponsible water use. Last year, oil and gas companies in B.C. used a record six billion litres of freshwater for fracking, enough to fill 5000 Olympic-size swimming pools or meet the daily needs of 12.2 million people. During a severe, province-wide drought in 2023, the oil and gas industry’s water usage increased by over 800 million litres. 

When LNG projects come online, fracking in the northeast will increase. LNG Canada alone will require 18,000 additional fracking wells. Meaning more and more fresh water will be used by the industry. As drought is expected to intensify year after year, protecting the province’s water should be a top concern for this government. 

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Media contact

JoJo Beattie
Press Secretary
B.C. Green Caucus
+1 250-882-6187 | jojo.beattie@leg.bc.ca