Thursday, March 3, 2022

At a glance (2 minute read)

  • Owners of property using a well or dugout on or before Feb. 29, 2016 are required to have a license for non-domestic purposes.
  • If your client needs a licence, contact FrontCounter BC at 1 877 855-3222 (toll-free) or email FrontCounterBC@gov.bc.ca.

If you have clients in rural areas of Greater Vancouver, for example, Pemberton, Whistler, Squamish or  the Sunshine Coast who own or are thinking of buying property, check the BC well database to see if there’s a well on the property.

As of March 1, 2022, existing groundwater users - owners of property using a well or dugout on or before Feb. 29, 2016 are required to have a license for non-domestic purposes, such as irrigation, commercial, or industrial use.

A water licence isn’t required for a household well or groundwater used for residential purposes, such as watering small lawns and gardens.

If your clients missed the March 1, 2022 deadline, their water use is considered unauthorized and they must immediately stop using water.

Those who miss the deadline will be treated as a new user and their date of first use will no longer be recognized and the licence may be refused in water-stressed areas.

The historical date is crucial because older licences have priority access to water during shortages.

Property owners missing the deadline could also face fines for unlicensed use of groundwater.

Water licence applications made after March 1, 2022 will have to pay an application fee and may require costly studies to support an application.

Your clients should contact FrontCounter BC at 1 877 855-3222 (toll-free) or email FrontCounterBC@gov.bc.ca and have the following information available:

  • well location, depth and construction;
  • legal description of property;
  • evidence of when groundwater was first used;
  • history of use from the well; and
  • other related information about water use and works.

Watch a video on how to apply for a water licence, using irrigation as an example.