The proposed water-bottling plant has raised concerns from the High Bar First Nation over the aquifer's long-term sustainability, and has fuelled calls for a moratorium on groundwater bottling licences issued by the province. Greg Crookes, a natural resource manager for the High Bar First Nation, says the community has been in regular talks with the province, each time strongly opposing the plant. "If we say yes to extracting some water now, what's that going to look like 10, 20, or 100 from now?" said Crookes. He says the area only gets about 28 centimetres of precipitation per year, the same figure included in Environment Canada's precipitation records for the years 1981 to 2010. "If they need water, go to the places where the water exists — don't go to some of the driest places in B.C.," he said. "The ranchers need the water, the First Nations need the water, the animals need the water."