Opinion: This year’s drought pitted fish against farms. B.C. must do better

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeOpinionOp-Ed Opinion: This year’s drought pitted fish against farms. B.C. must do better Dave Zehnder: Modernizing industrial water rates — B.C. industries pay among the lowest rates in the country — could support the province's Watershed Security Fund to deliver collaborative solutions without burdening taxpayers or farmers Author of the article: By Dave Zehnder Published Sep 18, 2026 Last updated 19 hours ago 3 minute read Join the conversation Farmers and communities are increasingly facing difficult decisions as drought puts pressure on limited water supplies, writes Dave Zehnder. Above: Vineyards near Kelowna in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley. PHOTO BY PHOTO BY STUART, /via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Article content When a river runs dangerously low, who gets the last water: A farmer trying to save a crop or a salmon trying to survive? Article content As B.C. experiences more frequent and severe droughts, conflicts over that question are becoming increasingly common. A forecast super El Niño makes it likely water deficits in many regions will carry into next year, raising the potential for conflict higher. Article content Article content Article content This summer, in the Salmon River watershed, the province banned irrigation to protect chinook salmon in July, then reversed the order amid wildfire concerns. In mid-August, with flows still low, it reimposed the ban, and issued another in early September in nearby Bessette Creek watershed. These decisions fuelled debate over whether fish or farms should take priority. Article content Sunrise Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content Fish versus farms is a false choice. But we’ll see more of these conflicts if the province waits until rivers run dry to decide how scarce water should be shared. Article content As a rancher and watershed steward, I know that farmers have a stake in healthy rivers. Our livelihoods depend on water, and no one benefits when emergency orders become the only option. Article content The urgency is clear. Severe drought and wildfire gripped much of the province this summer. Several B.C. Interior watersheds hit the highest level on the provincial drought scale. Salmon struggled…