FILE PHOTO Houses in the Green Bay area of West Kelowna are surrounded by water on Tuesday May 23, 2017. GARY NYLANDER / The Daily Courier

As the heat of summer swings into full effect, most British Columbians are thinking only of vacations and long lazy days at their local swimming holes or favourite beaches. But for the leaders of our new government, holidays are likely one of the furthest things from their minds as they begin the daunting task of setting priorities and the work agenda ahead.

No shortage of pressing issues and challenges will demand this new governments attention as it looks to fulfil its platform commitments to change and renewal. But water is one issue that matters most to many communities across B.C.

The province is endowed with a rich freshwater heritage that is vitally important to all British Columbians. For Indigenous peoples, water is not only the foundation of their constitutionally-protected rights, but also integral to connections to the land, spiritual and physical well-being, and community and economic development. Communities across the province rely on abundant and clean fresh water for quality of life, healthy ecosystems and vibrant economies.

Waters uneven distribution over the landscape and its seasonal and annual variability pose real challenges for water management in the province. Until recently, sustainable water management in British Columbia was only ever a secondary consideration to the priority of building the provincial resource-based economy. Past (and even current) dominant management practices struck an unsustainable balance, based primarily on draining, channelling, damming, and diverting water out of streams, lakes and aquifers, and dumping waste back into those systems. In the process, watersheds have become fragmented and natural capital has been degraded.

As devastating fires blaze through the Interior only weeks after stories of severe flooding dominated headlines, we are reminded yet again what the new normal of more frequent and extreme events might look like in the province: The implications of climate change on our freshwater systems and community well-being are severe.

Even before these extreme events, water security and concern that not enough is being done to protect water resources have ranked high as priorities for the public. In a comprehensive 2013 poll, 93 per cent of British Columbians stated that water is our most precious natural resource, and indicated a low degree of confidence that current management approaches are adequate to ensure freshwater security.

Water underpins the myriad issues of the day from energy production, to agriculture, to drinking water security. It is the foundation of any sustainable integrated resource development and management regime.

Building a bold new water agenda must be a top priority for our new government. To address British Columbias pressing water challenges and position itself as a freshwater leader resilient to a changing climate and responsive to local needs B.C. must change both water management (on-the-ground activities) and governance (processes of decision-making and holding decision makers to account).

Fortunately, B.C.s new leaders will not be starting from scratch: the previous government introduced the Water Sustainability Act in 2016 to improve water management and decision-making in B.C., including regulating groundwater use and enabling protection of water flows for fish and ecosystems. This initiative, however, is only partly complete. Many of its most important components, like watershed planning and a robust regime to protect ecological flows, still require implementation with adequate resourcing and independent oversight.

Now is a critical moment of opportunity for our leaders to build on the foundation of the Water Sustainability Act and set B.C. on a course toward a sustainable freshwater future.

To offer support to government, our team at the POLIS Water Sustainability Project at the University of Victoria has set out a ten-step plan that provides the specific elements and actions required for meaningful progress on a new water agenda for B.C. In addition to full implementation of the new provincial water legislation, this agenda provides direction to ensure sufficient funds to deliver on a comprehensive program, engage Indigenous governments as partners in governing and managing fresh water, build resilience through protecting vital natural systems, provide the necessary science and information to make informed evidence-based decisions and ensure competent and independent oversight and accountability.

With a revitalized water agenda, B.C. can expect growing water security, increased public confidence through evidence-based decisions, decreased conflicts as natural capital is protected, and greater ability to adapt to the oncoming changes in climate.

As B.C.s new government settles into the hard work of building the path forward for the province, our message is simple: Get the water right and the rest will follow. Our communities, economies, ecosystems and future generations depend on it.

Oliver M. Brandes is co-Director of University of Victorias POLIS Project on Ecological Governance at the Centre for Global Studies. Jon ORiordan is the former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management and POLIS Strategic Water Policy Advisor. Rosie Simms is the Water Law and Policy Researcher with POLIS. They recently authored and released A Revitalized Water Agenda for British Columbias Circular Economy to catalyze action on water in B.C.

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Opinion: Splash of innovation a new water agenda for BC - Vancouver Sun