Water Scarcity
British Columbia has long been seen as a land of abundant water, with rain-soaked forests and snowy mountains. But that reality has changed. Water scarcity is now a very real threat, putting communities, food production, industries, and the salmon and ecosystems we rely on at risk
Ten years ago, most British Columbians would never have imagined communities running out of water. Yet today, water scarcity has become one of the province’s most urgent challenges, threatening towns and cities from the northeast to the rain-soaked south coast.
- 2022 – Sunshine Coast Regional District declared a state of local emergency as watershed levels dropped so low that emergency measures were needed to protect the water supply. The emergency lasted several weeks, creating major disruptions to farms, businesses, and daily life.
- 2023 – the Village of McBride declared its own water emergency when Dominion Creek, its sole source, fell to critically low levels. The emergency, first declared on September 19, remained in place for about 241 days as drought persisted into the following year.
- 2025 – Dawson Creek issued a State of Local Emergency when the Kiskatinaw River reached historic lows. At the time, the city warned that reservoirs held only enough water for roughly 150 days, triggering an urgent search to find new water sources.
These communities reflect a growing trend across B.C., where prolonged drought and shrinking watersheds are placing more towns and cities at risk each year.
- In the historic drought of 2023, farmers lost fields of crops and ranchers were forced to sell their herds
- Fish kill — Local ecosystems and fish habitats are stressed by reduced flows and higher water temperatures
Resources
While climate change is a significant driver of drought, the impacts of drought can be mitigated through smart government policy, such as implementing local Watershed Boards. Watershed boards are able to manage conflicting water priorities during cases of drought by collaboratively developing watershed plans with local input. They can also ensure that land-use decisions are made with a goal to build natural infrastructure, such as wetlands, that provide protection against drought.
