British Columbia has a stringent process in place before the natural gas industry can use water for exploration purposes.

The BC Oil and Gas Commission has many measures in place to protect water. All water applications go through a thorough review process. Applications can only be approved if water flows will be maintained and the environment is protected.

Experts from the BC Oil and Gas Commission review each and every water request. All hydrologic and aquatic implications are considered to ensure water is protected for communities and ecosystems.

Facts:

• Water use can be granted through short-term permits for up to two years or longer-term licenses. A stringent review process is conducted for both. Companies are legally required to report out on the water they use. 
• Based on 2015 statistics, the oil and natural gas industry uses less than 0.03 percent of the mean annual run off from river basins in northeast B.C. - the amount of water that flows through rivers and lakes during the year.
• The BC Oil and Gas Commission has the authority to suspend water permits during times of low stream flow. This is a proactive measure to ensure water resources remain protected.
• British Columbia also has strong regulations to protect water from resource development, including hydraulic fracturing. There has never been a reported incident of groundwater contamination as a result of hydraulic fracturing within British Columbia. 
• The typical range for a potable water well for domestic purposes in northeast B.C. is between 18 and 150 metres underground. The depth of an oil and gas producing zone occurs as deep as 3,500 m below surface. When wells are drilled in B.C., they are double-lined with cement and steel to a depth of at least 600 metres and below any fresh water sources. This provides protection for the environment, isolating the hydraulic fracturing process from soil and drinking water sources. There are also impermeable layers of rock and soil between a potable water zone and the producing hydrocarbon zone. This provides natural, pre-existing protection from fluid migration.
• British Columbia was the first province in Canada to regulate the mandatory disclosure of ingredients used in the hydraulic fracturing process. The online registry, found at FracFocus.ca, provides a transparent accounting of each well drilled and includes water data.
• In 2016 the Province of British Columbia implemented a new Water Sustainability Act to respond to current and future pressures on fresh water - including groundwater - and position British Columbia as a leader in water stewardship. This new act modernizes B.C.'s laws to regulate groundwater use and strengthen province-wide water management.
• For more information and statistics, the BC Oil and Gas Commission has a Water Information Portal available online at https://www.bcogc.ca/public-zone/water-information.