15,000 water wells could be declared illegal in 2022, causing economic chaos Les Leyne / Times Colonist OCTOBER 5, 2021 06:00 AM https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/columnists/les-leyne-15-000-water-wells-could-be-declared-illegal-in-2022-causing-economic-chaos-1.24362080 There was a pivotal moment in B.C.’s resource management history about five years ago when the Water Sustainability Act was passed. It brought the management of groundwater into the modern era, to congratulations all around. It set up a regime to regulate, protect and use it fairly. The “once in a generation” bill was going to transform groundwater policy. The only problem was that scarcely anyone paid any attention to it. Particularly the thousands of individuals, farmers, businesses and entities in rural B.C. who use well water for anything other than domestic purposes, and have been doing so for years.