Post on 19-Jan-2016
Okanagan Drought Planning and Response
A presentation by Kellie Garcia Osoyoos Lake Water Science ForumOctober 9, 2015
Presentation Outline
Local response to 2015 drought
Drought timeline & impacts
Action taken
Challenges facedOkanagan drought project
Status of drought planning
Draft recommendationsTake home messages
2015 Drought2015 Drought
Overview of local response
Drought timeline
Drought Levels: 1 Normal 2 Dry 3 Very Dry 4 Extremely Dry
Basins 15-May 28-May 25-Jun 03-Jul 09-Jul 15-Jul 21-Jul 23-Jul 05-Aug 06-Aug 20-Aug 03-Sep 17-Sep 01-OctNorthwest 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Stikine 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Northeast 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1Peace 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1East Peace 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1Skeena-Nass 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1Nechako 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Upper Fraser 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1Middle Fraser 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 2 1Upper Columbia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1Lower Columbia 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 2West Kootenay 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 2East Kootenay 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 1 1North Thompson 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 2 1South Thompson 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 2Okanagan-Kettle 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 3Kettle (separated J uly 23) 4 4 4 4 4 3 3Nicola 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2Similkameen 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 2Skagit 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 2 1Lower Fraser 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1South Coast 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1Vancouver I sland 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1Haida Gwaii 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1Central Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2015 DROUGHT LEVELS AT A GLANCE
Prepared By: Water Management Branch, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource OperationsLast Update: October 2,, 2015
Drought impacts
Devastation to salmon population—as well as sturgeon and chinook in other areasExtensive wildfiresSeveral Okanagan streams put on the watch list for regulation, including Duteau and Trepanier creeksOur reservoirs fared okay: concern about what will happen with precipitation this winter, and our reservoir status going into spring of 2016
Local response – OBWB
Frequent email updates Press releases and other outreach through Make Water Work campaignCommissioned three studies:
Status reports from local purveyors
Analysis of volume of water conserved through 30% reduction in use
Methods for lake evaporation estimationWebinar and workshop
Local response – water utilities
Several moved to 2 days/week but many stayed at odd/even (3 days)Several issued press releases supporting the province and asking community to reduce use Other communication tools were also used (e.g. signs, website updates)Some took action in other ways (e.g. SEKID)Many attended OBWB webinar and workshop
Challenges faced
Difficult to gather and distribute timely info about status & vulnerability of water suppliesConfusion about how local suppliers should respond to provincial drought declarationsChallenging to show cumulative benefits of upstream conservation (e.g. pulse flows)
Okanagan Drought ProjectOkanagan Drought Project
Purpose: evaluate preparedness and strengthen drought resiliency in the Okanagan
What contributes to resiliency?
Good understanding of water supply and demand (current and future)
Water uses and withdrawals, water quality, instream flow requirements, demand under various scenarios, management alternatives, potential conflicts and impacts
Monitoring, record-keeping, and reporting
Water demand, reservoir levels, climate conditions, water quality
What contributes to resiliency?
Continued and heightened conservation
Bylaws, education, and other conservation measures, plans, coordinated approaches
Formal communications strategiesIdentify communication channels to key stakeholders and public, methods & timing, responsibilities
Consistent and deliberate cooperation
Build relationships and make friends before the drought
Are we ready?
Looked at 18 major Okanagan purveyors Five have formal drought plansAll but one have watering restriction bylaws Most have conservation info on website, a few have formal programs/plansNot sure about communication plansNot much coordination between utilitiesNo valley-wide response strategy in place
We have a good framework in place
Barriers to drought planning
Myth of abundanceMishmash of water providersVariation between drainages & sourcesVariation in bylaws & policiesDifficult to show hydrological connectivity
Joe Heller, Green Bay Press-Gazette
The hydro-illogical cycle
Draft RecommendationsDraft Recommendations
Under review by the focus group
Information
Identify gaps and gather info to support drought planning
Implement robust monitoring, record-keeping, and reporting
Universal water metering
Planning
Prepare drought plans
Can be based on provincial template
Might already have the info - just need to update and compile
Plan for “new normal” (i.e. multi-year drought)
Conservation
Make water conservation a year-round priority in all jurisdictions
Conservation
Continue to communicate the “One Valley One Water” message
How can we make information about hydrological connectivity more accessible?
We need a better argument than “doing the right thing”
Coordination
Prepare a valley-wide drought response plan
Link to provincial plan
Focus on communication & coordination
Include TOR for Okanagan Valley Drought Response Team
Connect to provincial response teams
Coordination
Prepare (or update) drought agreements for priority sub-basins
Include all water licensees/stakeholders
Link to valley-wide drought plan/team
Coordination
Adopt consistent definitions of stages and common decision-making tools for moving between them
e.g. Armstrong Stage 2 is hand watering only, whereas GVWU (and most others) it is sprinkling 2 days per week
Different definitions of “normal” stage
Communication
Three levels to consider:Water suppliers to water users
Between water suppliers
Between province and water suppliers
PROVINCE
OBWB
SUPPLIER SUPPLIER SUPPLIER
USERS USERS USERS
Communication
Develop consistent and collaborative drought communication tools
Communication
Graphics to show actual operating range of Okanagan Lake and potential impacts of drought?
Need to link to the individual
Example: Cowichan Lake level and role of the weir
Communication
Expand Okanagan WaterWise to include drought (and flood?) outreach campaign
Take home messages
Drought response this year was quite reactive, but a good learning experience
Need to get better prepared before next year
Framework is in place but much more work to be done
OBWB can take a leadership role in communication and coordination, but utilities must get ready at the local level
The water we save today may be the water we need in the future.
THANK-YOU!
My contact info:250-545-3672kbg@summit-environmental.com