VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The provincial government is ready to start charging for using ground water. A new rate structure is being brought in.
This is in response to anger over news commercial bottling company Nestle had been using massive amounts of the resource in Hope for free.
The rate being charged varies depending on what it’s being used for. The BC Environment Ministry says the fees will only cover the cost of implementing its new Water Sustainability Act. The average household will pay one or two dollars more per year. Homeowners with wells are exempt. Water bottling will be charged at the industrial rate which is $2.25 per 1000m3. For perspective, 1000m3 is enough to fill a 25m swimming pool.
Nestle will pay about $700 per year to run its Hope plant. NDP environment critic Spencer Chandra Herbert says the rate for bottling companies is too low. “With rates this low, turning off the tap or making sure your pipes aren’t leaking for some it’s not going to really make any difference. They’ll just say it’s the cost of doing business wasting the water.”
He says homeowners shouldn’t be paying a higher rate than corporations. If you turn on the tap at home, you’re paying considerably more for that water than it costs for a water bottling company to get that same water.”