Severe drought prompts order to help restore flows in B.C.'s Salmon River

Left: Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Minister Randene Neill listens during an announcement, in Vancouver, on Monday, May 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Right: Salmon River on Vancouver Island near Sayward. (The Interior / Wikimedia Commons)

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has issued an order affecting more than 450 water licenses to protect fish in the Salmon River watershed, saying the Thompson-Okanagan region has been wracked with “severe” drought.

A statement from the Water Ministry says the river has shown persistently low streamflow despite what it described as significant voluntary conservation efforts.

It says flows over the past week have been well below the minimum threshold required to support the survival of fish populations.

The ministry says the order will help protect endangered chinook salmon by temporarily restricting water use for forage crops and certain industrial purposes.

It says the temporary order takes effect on Tuesday and covers 456 surface-water and groundwater licenses.

The ministry says they must stop using water for irrigation of forage crops, such as hay, alfalfa and forage corn, as well as lawns, fairways and certain industrial purposes.

Water Minister Randene Neill said last week that drought had created record-low stream flows in some B.C. waterways, especially in the Okanagan.

She asked Okanagan residents to help conserve water and said she had met with agricultural stakeholders from the region, where farmers in the Salmon River area were implementing a voluntary irrigation schedule in hopes flows would increase.

The ministry says affected water users would be contacted directly about the protection order.

It says programs are in place to offer support for drought-related crop failures, as well as income declines and increased costs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2026.