Prince George, B.C.- The Provincial Auditor General has completed an audit of the state of protection of groundwater in the province, and concludes the Province must do more.

 

The report  includes  detailed mapping of some aquifers in the province and  notes which ones  are in  varying degrees of jeopardy.   The map at the top of this page  suggests, the Prince George  aquifers are vulnerable.

 

The City of Prince George does have a number of "sentinel" wells near the  water supply.  These wells are sampled regulary and  are the early warning system of any possible contamination. 

 

More than 25% of the population of B.C. relies on groundwater for daily use. The report concludes that

government is not effectively ensuring the sustainability of the province’s groundwater resources.

• the ministry’s information about groundwater is insufficient to enable it to ensure the sustainability of the resource;

• groundwater is not being protected from depletion and contamination or to ensure the viability of the ecosystems it supports; and

• control over access to groundwater is insufficient to sustain the resource and key organizations lack adequate authority to take appropriate local responsibility.

 

 

The report outlines seven recommendations for the Ministry of the Environment:

 

1 Ensure that classification of the province’s aquifers is completed for all priority areas and that the WELLS database is kept up to date. The ministry should also ensure that aquifers are characterized, starting with those classified as having the highest priority.

 

2 Expand the Provincial Observation Wells Network and review the Provincial Ambient Groundwater Quality MonitoringNetwork to ensure there is sufficient monitoring of groundwater levels and quality across the province.

 

3 Take the lead on coordinating the consolidation of all of the groundwater monitoring information collected by provincial ministries and other agencies to reduce duplication of effort and to ensure the best use of limited resources.

 

4 Develop a groundwater information management strategy that takes into account detailed scientific information and identified trends, and ensure that the information required to support this strategy is collected, analyzed and available through one location.

 

5 Develop and deploy systems to protect groundwater from depletion and contamination and to ensure the viability of the ecosystems it supports.

 

6 Develop a framework that clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities for managing groundwater provincially and locally, and ensure that agencies are able to take responsibility for groundwater in their area.

 

7 Ensure that integrated watershed management plans are developed for all priority watersheds.

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