Media Release: BC Budget Misses Opportunity to Generate New Revenue, Strengthen Watershed Security, Jobs, and Economic Resilience

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 17, 2026 | Victoria, B.C. | Lekwungen Territory

Budget 2026 misses a critical opportunity to secure the health of British Columbia’s watersheds that underpin the province’s economy, food security, public health, and community safety. This comes at a moment when climate extremes and global uncertainty are driving rising costs for communities, businesses, and governments across the province.

Despite growing risks from floods, droughts, wildfires, and water supply insecurity, the budget includes no new investment in watershed security and no commitment to modernize industrial water rates, despite clear evidence that water is being undervalued relative to its economic and public safety importance.

“Global uncertainty is rising, and BC is rightly focused on protecting jobs and strengthening the economy,” said Coree Tull, Chair of the BC Watershed Security Coalition. “But none of that works without secure, reliable water. Budget 2026 missed a clear opportunity to invest in watershed security and modernize industrial water rates, a practical way to generate new revenue while avoiding the rapidly rising costs of floods, droughts, and wildfires.”

Funding for watershed security has fallen sharply in recent years, even as climate impacts intensify. Since 2021, BC has committed to building watershed security through investments in the watershed workforce and community-driven watershed planning and management. Since then, funding has dropped by 80 percent, leaving communities and local governments more exposed to risk.

“Investing in watershed security isn’t just about protecting rivers and wetlands, it’s about supporting thousands of family-sustaining jobs across BC,” said Alan Shapiro, Program Co-Lead, Working For Watersheds. “Revising outdated industrial water rates would provide a stable funding source for this watershed workforce, from technicians and tradespeople to First Nations Guardians and local project teams, delivering measurable results that protect communities, strengthen local economies, and reduce long-term risks.”

“Wildfires, floods, droughts, invasive species, and housing pressures are all watershed issues,” said Vicki Brown, Mayor of Cumberland. “Without sustained investment in watershed security, we’re forced into crisis response instead of prevention and that costs taxpayers far more in the long run. Reinvesting revenue from updated industrial water rates into watershed health would help communities manage risk before disasters hit.”

“BC’s 2026 budget fails to defend freshwater — our most precious resource. Underinvesting in watershed security while allowing industry to pay next to nothing for our freshwater is a costly and unfair choice,” said Meghan Rooney, Assistant Director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society. “Modernizing industrial water rental rates would support strong communities and wild salmon populations, rather than shifting risks and recovery costs onto the public and leaving fish and wildlife more vulnerable.”

“Farmers know better than anyone that water is the lifeblood of food security and rural economies,” said Dave Zehnder, farmer, Zehnder Ranch. Updating industrial water rates and reinvesting that revenue in watershed health would help support long-term stability for farms and rural communities. When we  fail to invest in watershed health, we put food security, rural jobs, and long-term stability at risk.”

Increasingly, watershed security is being recognized as a matter of public safety, economic resilience, and national security. Failing to invest in watershed health increases exposure to climate disasters, strains emergency response systems, and drives up long-term public costs. Treating watershed security as core infrastructure helps protect communities and strengthen resilience in a changing climate.

The BC Watershed Security Coalition is calling on the Province to commit to dedicated watershed security funding and to modernize industrial water rates to create a self-sustaining revenue stream that protects water, supports workers, and reduces long-term public costs.

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Background:

• The BC Watershed Security Coalition is a nonpartisan, diverse coalition of 57 organizations made up of community water experts and leaders in the field, including farmers, Indigenous champions, local governments, and NGO’s representing 285,000 British Columbians.
• Watershed security and the strength of our economy are directly linked. BC’s energy, resource, and housing sectors, along with thousands of small businesses — farmers, craft brewers, tourism operators, and manufacturers — depend on a reliable water supply.
• In 2025, flooding in the Sumas Prairie caused an estimated $74 million in damage, while prolonged drought in Dawson Creek has forced planning for a $100 million pipeline simply to secure reliable drinking water. This year, snowpack is already uneven across the province, low in some basins and unusually high in others, raising risks of summer water shortages in some regions and spring flooding in others, underscoring how both too much and too little water are now major and growing public liabilities in British Columbia.
• In August 2025 The Select Standing Committee on Finance released their Report on the Budget 2026 Consultation, which recommended “Review provincial water rental rates to ensure alignment with other provinces, and the portion of these rates being dedicated to strengthening water management, including drinking water protection and watershed monitoring”.
• In 2025, the Union of BC Municipalities endorsed Resolution: NR93 Dedicating Water Rental Fees to Watershed Security: at least 10% of the revenue collected from provincial water rental fees be dedicated to support watershed security at the local level; And that water rental fees for large industrial water users be increased to make this a revenue-neutral solution for the Province
• Coalition polling shows a 2-to-1 majority of British Columbians support dedicating industrial water use fees to the Watershed Security Fund vs. government general revenue 
• The work to keep BC’s watersheds healthy supports more than 47,000 jobs—on par with mining, and oil and gas. Frontline watershed workers protect drinking water, mitigate flood damage, advance food security, and create secure and resilient communities.
• Between 2021-22, provincial investments of $57 million in watershed security catalyzed over  1,800 jobs across BC. But funding for watershed security has dropped 80 per cent compared to 2022 levels. 
• Working with First Nations to strengthen watershed security is critical for reconciliation and to meaningfully advance the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including Indigenous economic and community development.
• Coalition polling shows 86% of British Columbians support funding for training and employing workers to monitor, restore, and manage freshwater across the province.