Oil and gas companies shatter record for freshwater extraction in B.C. amid severe drought

səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) territories (VANCOUVER, B.C.) – Oil and gas companies extracted more than nine billion litres of freshwater from lakes and rivers in B.C.; a record-breaking 50% increase over the year before, according to a report released today by Stand.earth. New data from the B.C. Energy Regulator (BCER) reveals that 2024 is the third consecutive year that the oil and gas sector has set a new high for freshwater withdrawals. This water-grab is happening while communities across the Peace River region – where most of this water is withdrawn – face severe, multi-year droughts.

The equivalent of the annual residential water use of 111,530 Canadians – the population of Nanaimo – has been poisoned and permanently removed from the water cycle. Once used, this water is contaminated with toxic chemicals, salts, heavy metals, and radioactive materials, and injected into deep disposal wells, never to return to rivers, lakes, or aquifers.

“The Peace region is clearly in the middle of a drought crisis and it’s becoming clear that the insatiable demand for water from fracking – which is up 50% in the last year alone – can not co-exist with needs of agriculture and local residents,” said Kiki Wood, Senior Canadian Oil and Gas Campaigner with Stand.earth. “Our report lays out some concrete steps that the Eby government can take to reduce the freshwater demands of the industry. These steps will not be enough to protect the lakes and rivers of the northeast if the number of fracking wells continues to grow at the pace needed to supply all the LNG terminals currently being considered, and if we continue to allow the impacts of climate change to get worse.”

Communities like Dawson Creek are struggling to secure drinking water, with city officials seeking permission from the province to build a $100 million pipeline to the Peace River after the Kiskatinaw River, their current drinking water source, nearly ran dry. Farmers and ranchers across the Peace Region – once known as the “Breadbasket of the North” – are also grappling with crop failures, parched pastures, and dwindling dugouts to water their cattle as industrial fracking operations boom in their own backyards.

Despite record-breaking extraction, B.C. still charges oil and gas companies just $2.25 per million litres of water – among the lowest industrial rates in Canada. In 2024, companies paid just over $20,000 in water fees for the nine billion litres they consumed, not even enough to cover the salaries of regulators who administer the permits.

To address this crisis, Stand.earth is calling on the B.C. government to:

1. Require treatment and reuse of fracking wastewater to reduce freshwater use.
2. Strengthen disposal well standards, including baseline and ongoing water testing.
3. End special treatment for oil and gas by centralizing water licensing under the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.
4. Charge higher, scaled water rates to incentivize conservation and ensure polluting industries pay their fair share.

Notes for editors:

See the new report here

See last year’s report  here regarding freshwater usage by the oil and gas industry.

For more information about what the oil and gas industry pays for water see here.

Contact

Kiki Wood, Senior Oil and Gas Campaigner – Stand.earth +1 604-367-1865, kiki@stand.earth  (Pacific Time)

Sven Biggs, Canadian Oil and Gas Programs Director – Stand.earth +1 778-882-8354, sven@stand.earth (Pacific Time)

Arin de Hoog, Communications, Oil, Gas and Shipping – Stand.earth. +1 613-978-7329, arin.dehoog@stand.earth (Eastern Time)