WHEREAS water is more than a resource: water is an element essential to life.
WHEREAS the importance of the Middle Shuswap River to the region is significant (and supports a diverse range of ecosystems and several provincially and federally listed threatened and endangered species).
WHEREAS water quantity is limited: the Okanagan already has the lowest per person water supply in Canada and water quantity is further compounded by a trend of lower summer flows and lower snowpacks.
WHEREAS the quality of water in the Middle Shuswap River is significant and has been the focus of water quality tests since 2008.
WHEREAS the Shuswap River Watershed is deemed a “High Risk Area” and a “Phosphorus-Affected Area” by the government of British Columbia.
WHEREAS the water quality in the Middle Shuswap River is increasingly impacted from elevated nutrients (Shuswap River Watershed Sustainability Plan developed by the Regional District of North Okanagan, 2014).
WHEREAS manure is a notable source of water pollution, including phosphorus, nitrogen, and pathogens, viruses and parasites.
WHEREAS dairy cows excrete 38 times more phosphorus than humans
(Humans: 1.5 g of P/day - dairy cows: 57 g of P/day) Fraser Basin Phosphorus Action Plan for the Shuswap Watershed.
WHEREAS the “Shuswap River Watershed Sustainability Plan” states that the community strongly believes that the watershed should be “protected and managed in a respectful, sustainable manner”.
WHEREAS Areas D and E’s Official Community Plan was updated in 2013 with section 4.2.19 to specify “…The community supports sustainable, traditional and organic agricultural practices in Electoral Areas “D” and “E”.
WHEREAS Areas D and E’s Official Community Plan was updated with section 4.2.20 : “The residents of Elector al Areas “D” (Rural Lumby) and “E” (Cherryville) do not support the introduction, use, cultivation or propagation of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and encourage Electoral Areas “D” and “E” agricultural producers to adopt a GE free policy for locally grown agricultural products”.
WHEREAS the lack of accountability, deficient regulations and non enforcement of existing ones lead to the devastation of watersheds and the pollution of waterways.