Citation | Hatfield, T, Lewis, A, Ohlson, D and Bradford, M. 2003. Instream flow thresholds as guidelines for reviewing proposed water uses - Synopsis. Prepared for BC Ministry of Environment. |
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Organization | Ministry of Environment |
URL | http://www.geoscientific.com/technical/tech_references_pdf_files/BC%20Instream%20Flow%20Guidelines%20for%20Fish.pdf |
Abstract/Description or Keywords | British Columbia has abundant water resources, which sustain productive aquatic ecosystems and many uses by humans (e.g., fishing, power generation, irrigation, drinking water, industrial uses, recreation, etc.). Determining how much water can be extracted from a river without negatively affecting fish and fish habitat is a daunting task, but one that is frequently asked of resource managers. The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (MWLAP), Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management (MSRM), Land and Water BC Inc. (LWBC), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) are developing the British Columbia Instream Flow Guidelines for Fish (referred to here as “the Guidelines”) to aid in the process of setting instream flows in British Columbia streams. These Guidelines deal specifically with instream flow requirements to support aquatic ecosystem values. They do not address other environmental protection issues related to conserving fish, wildlife or plant communities (e.g., “footprint” impacts, construction impacts, or cumulative effects). The Guidelines are made up of two main components, Flow Thresholds, and Assessment Methods. The Guidelines support a two-tiered review process for proposed water uses on BC streams (Figure 1). The first tier is a scoping level process that provides thresholds for alterations to natural stream flows that are expected to result in low risk to fish, fish habitat, and productive capacity. These thresholds are meant to act as a “coarse filter” during the review of proposed water uses on BC streams when there is little or no biological or physical data available. Projects that propose to exceed these flow thresholds must collect additional data, which will be reviewed and used during a more detailed project review (the second tier). The Assessment Methods are a set of endorsed techniques for assessing flow alterations on British Columbia streams. The Assessment Methods concentrate on techniques for collecting data used during more intensive project reviews. This document presents a synopsis of the instream flow thresholds proposed as part of the Review Guidelines. A more detailed analysis (project description and history, literature reviews, data analysis, and performance assessment) is presented in Hatfield et al. (2003). The Assessment Methods are presented in a separate document (Lewis et al. 2003). low flow, environmental flow needs, EFN, aquatic habitat, fisheries, salmonids |
Information Type | report |
Regional Watershed | Province |
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Project status | complete |
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