Water taking permits for…

Water taking permits for bottled water should be phased out over the next several years, and there should be a permanent moratorium on all bottled water taking permits, and no new permits or expansion of existing permits should be allowed. All permits, even the expired ones that are still being used should be shown on the map so the public knows where the water taking is occurring and how much is being allowed.

Further, when there is a drought, the permits should automatically be adjusted to decrease the allowable taking by 10 % during Level One droughts , 20% during Level two droughts and so on. Decreasing water takings during droughts should be mandatory and not voluntary and should be monitored for compliance.

Thank you for proposing that bottled water taking permits require municipal permission, however, there should not be a lower limit when local governments do not need to be consulted or agree. Municipal governments including Indigenous communities should have the right to refuse water taking permits for bottled water purposes. Further, municipalities should have authority to review and determine all water taking permit requests in their jurisdiction.Water for local use is a priority. In most cases bottled water is not a necessity but an unnecessary convenience for those who can't be bothered refiling a reusable water container. Most of the plastic bottles are not recycled and this has contributed to world wide plastic pollution that is destroying our land and water with plastic junk that will last for centuries.

Water is a necessity of life, like air. Water should not be treated as a commodity. To allow bottled water is to remove water from our water table, never to return. Well water to bottles becomes well water to pipelines and Canada can not be selling its water to the world. We need to keep our water in our water tables for our residential and business wells, urban water supplies, farm crops, livestock, forests, gardens and other needs.

Given the climate change crisis and unpredictable precipitation and other factors, the government should do long term monitoring to understand our water needs and availability and quality of water over time so permits can be changed as required to prioritize local water needs. As I mentioned, water is a necessity of life and the public should know what is happing with its water. Who better to monitor local water situation than our conservation authorities who should be funded and tasked with studying the quality, quantity and cumulative effects of taking our water, especially the water that leaves our supply forever.