When you apply for a groundwater license, or have a professional apply on your behalf, you’ll need to specify the date of first use of the water. This is known as your “date of precedence” or “priority date”. Groundwater users that began using their water at an earlier date (senior licensees) are given priority over more recent users (junior licensees) under the First-in-Time First-in-Right (FITFIR) priority system. Your date of precedence could become important during times

Whether it be for potable supplies, industry, recreation or the environment, water underpins our collective well-being and ensuring that we have reliable and sustainable water resources is fundamental to current and future generations. In Alberta and BC, most of us rely on surface water (e.g., rivers and lakes) to sustain our water needs. This is typically accomplished by pumping water from the surface water feature, via direct intakes structures, which form permanent obstruc