| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
Twinflower Creek is an 8,500 hectare watershed and a tributary to Big Creek, west of Williams Lake on the Chilcotin Plateau. The complainant has a ranch on an alluvial fan midway up the watershed. There has been extensive harvesting on the Chilcotin Plateau, to address the current and historic mountain pine beetle infestations. Approximately 42 percent of the Twinflower Creek watershed above the fan has been harvested, mostly in the 1970s. The complainant holds a water use licence for power generation for residential use on Twinflower Creek. He does not have a licence for drinking water. The only licence for drinking water on the creek is approximately 12 kilometres downstream from the ranch. The complainant gets drinking water from a well, but uses the creek for drinking water when the well is dry. He has a licence for irrigation purposes from a separate watershed. There is a history of flooding and erosion events on the complainant’s property. In 1989, in an attempt to mitigate the flooding and erosion problems, the Ministry of Forests and Range (MFR) excavated the creek through the property at the request of the landowner at the time. In 1991, a major storm (at an intensity only expected to occur every 200 years) caused considerable damage to the ranch. The creek was scoured, with eroded material deposited on the rancher’s fields. After this event, a hydrologist determined that the 1989 excavation had made the creek channel more susceptible to damage. The rancher says that in recent years old logging debris has plugged the creek and his water intake, and that sediment has filled his reservoir and water pipe. He also believes the excavation of the creek contributed to the drying up of the meadows on his property, which has required him to install additional irrigation equipment. The rancher is concerned that the salvage harvesting will result in a significant increase to the peak flows in Twinflower Creek, with the potential for subsequent damage to his property. As well, he is concerned that there will be less water in the summer for irrigation and watering livestock. |
