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