BC fruit growers demand coordinated water management in Greater Vernon

The BC Fruit Growers' Association (BCFGA) is calling on Greater Vernon Water and the Regional District of North Okanagan to halt the current approach to agricultural water shut-offs and immediately establish a coordinated management plan with growers and senior government. As of July 13, agricultural properties that have reached their reduced seasonal allocation are having their water service cut off entirely — in the middle of the growing season, during the hottest weeks of the year. 

Greater Vernon Water's decision to reduce agricultural allocations by 70 per cent, and to shut off service once that allocation is reached, was made without a coordinated survival plan for the orchards and farms it affects. BCFGA's position is straightforward: a regional water authority cannot turn off the water to a food-producing sector of this scale without first working through the consequences with growers and with the province. 

“No one is disputing that the drought is serious and growers are not asking anyone to deliver water that does not exist,” said Deep Brar, president, BCFGA. “What we are saying is that you cannot simply shut off the water to hundreds of farms and treat it as a routine restriction. When the decision you are making could kill orchards that took 20 years to grow, you have an obligation to coordinate that decision – with the growers who will live with it, and with the province, which holds tools that a regional district does not.” 

The economic stakes are severe. The shut-offs affect more than 2,100 acres of apple and cherry orchards in the Greater Vernon area. BCFGA estimates widespread orchard loss could cause more than $250 million in direct losses, and more than $300 million once lost production, packing, trucking, labour, suppliers, and related local businesses are counted. Unlike an annual crop, a mature orchard is long-term food-producing infrastructure. If the trees die, the loss is measured in years, not a single season — and the economic damage radiates through the entire regional economy.