Letter: Premier Eby Drought Readiness

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Bowen Denman Hornby Gabriola Galiano Gambier Lasqueti Mayne North Pender Salt Spring Saturna South Pender Thetis
200 – 1627 Fort Street, Victoria BC V8R 1H8
Telephone (250) 405 - 5151 Fax (250) 405 - 5155
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver (604) 660 - 2421
Elsewhere in BC 1.800.663.7867
Email information@islandstrust.bc.ca
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September 25 , 2026 File No.: 11 - 5420 - 30
Via email: premier@gov.bc.ca
The Honourable David Eby
Premier of British Columbia
PO Box 9041 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9E1
Dear Premier Eby :
Re: Drought Readiness
I am writing on behalf of Islands Trust Council to encourage the Province of British Columbia to
implement the recommend ed actions in the POLIS Water Sustainability Project ’s Drought Ready:
From Crisis Response to Community and Watershed Resilience in British Columbia report.
Released o n July 15, 2026, by the POLIS Water Sustainability Project at the University of Victoria’s
Centre for Global Studies , t he report identifies legal, policy, and planning tools available to the
Province to shift from reactive draught response toward long - term community and watershed
resilience. It sets out five interconnected recommen dations :
1. Set the policy and knowledge foundation for the change ahead ;
2. Shift water mindsets and relationships ;
3. Promote water conservation and efficiency ;
4. Expedite water and watershed sustainability planning ; and
5. Resource and empower local drought governance and response.
The se recommendations are particularly relevant to the Islands Trust Area. Most island residents
rely on private wells drawing from fractured bedrock aquifers that depend on seasonal rainfall for
recharge. I ncreasing ly, island communities are report ing wells going dry , while c oastal aquifers
face growing risk of saltwater intrusion. Islanders are also i ncreasingly reliant on bulk water
deliveries from on and off island providers . Drought has broader ecological consequences as well,
increased stress on western redcedar and other vegetation and t he drying or reduction of seasonal
wetlands that provide important habitat .
Islands Trust h as a provincial mandate to preserve and protect the Trust Area and its unique
amenities and environment, in cooperation with municipalities, regional districts, improvement
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Premier Eby
September 25 , 2026
Page 2
Bowen Denman Hornby Gabriola Galiano Gambier Lasqueti Mayne North Pender Salt Spring Saturna South Pender Thetis
districts, First Nations, other persons and organizations , and the government of British Columbia.
In support of that mandate, Islands Trust has undertaken significant freshwater - related work,
including mapp ing critical aquifer recharge areas and vulnerable groundwater regions, develop ing
the Freshwater Atlas to inform land - use decisions, assess ing water availability on individual
islands, and requiri ng professional certification of potable water supply at subdivision.
This work builds on the Islands Trust Council ’

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