by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on Tuesday February 09 2021
The CCPA says at present, there is no publicly available information on the amount of water consumed by major industries in the province.
Major companies including mining juggernaut Teck Resources, the world’s largest aluminum maker Rio Tinto Alcan and natural gas processor WestCoast Energy Inc. pay shockingly little for water they take from British Columbia’s lakes, rivers and streams.
Of greater concern, most industrial water users rarely, if ever, are required to meter and report their actual water use to the provincial regulator.
“It is troubling just how laxly regulated our biggest water users are,” says Ben Parfitt, an analyst with the BC office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), who crunched the numbers.