"Our New Era commitments include passing strong legislation that ensures clean, safe drinking water for the people of British Columbia," says Water, Land and Air Protection Minister Joyce Murray. "Included in the government's drinking water action plan are strong measures that provide source-to-tap protection for ground water. The board will comment on these measures and help government develop the new ground water regulatory framework to be introduced this fall."

The six-member advisory board will examine ground water issues and make recommendations on current standards for well design, well construction, well siting, well flow tests and ground water sampling. The board will serve for up to 24 months and will start by reviewing draft regulations for well construction, as well as qualification requirements for well drillers and well pump installers. Recommendations provided by the board will help the government establish an effective, science-based approach to ground water protection. The board members include water experts with extensive knowledge of well drilling, pump installation, small water systems operations, hydrogeology and ground water research.