Water is a common resource that has allowed ecosystems and society in British Columbia to thrive and flourish. Much of this province is well endowed with bountiful, high-quality water resources that have contributed to this richness (Day and Affum 1990). However, increasing human populations have put a significant strain on many watersheds. Furthermore, where high rates of water extraction, diversion and impoundment have occurred in streams and lakes containing valuable salmon and steelhead ecosystems, the result has usually been detrimental to the fisheries resource.

Government agencies are now expected to be more effective in managing the fresh water resource that salmon and steelhead use for spawning and rearing. In particular, stewardship groups have been demanding greater protection for flows in streams. This is evident from the effort put into developing the British Columbia Fish Protection Act that will have provisions for flows in streams. …

Water use planning is a formal mechanism that determines how holders of water licences are to use water in British Columbia; however, this exercise is not necessarily confined to hydro power projects. Because of its ability to draw all interested parties into the same room to seek a consensus, water use planning may become a powerful tool to protect and restore salmon and steelhead habitat.

–Excerpt from the report’s Introduction