The BC government is seeking to streamline how it reviews and decides existing-use groundwater licence applications to clear the backlog. Most of the roughly 8,000 existing-use applications arrived in the six months before the transition period ended on March 1, 2022. The engagement didn’t set out specific changes; it asked for input on changes to water policies and procedures.
Who it affects: People and businesses who applied as existing groundwater users and are still waiting for a decision.
What hasn’t changed: Existing-use applicants who applied by March 1, 2022, can continue using groundwater while they wait for a decision, subject to any restrictions or orders that apply.
Source: Engagement opportunity: Expediting existing use groundwater applications · checked October 2, 2026
Updates: December 12, 2025: The survey on this proposal closed.
March 18, 2026: The Province published a What We Heard report on the engagement. It has not announced a decision on this proposal (Blog Post #46).
May 5, 2026: The minister told the legislature the plan is to clear the existing-use backlog by next summer. See Province Aims to Clear Existing-Use Backlog by Summer 2027.
October 2, 2026: Provincial sources give different accounts of whether the backlog is now cleared, and the Wire has confirmed neither. See the same entry.
