Water Stewardship Information Sources

ID 1110
Citation Lakeshore Environmental Ltd. 2003. Okanagan Reservoir Lake Project. Prepared for Land and Water BC.
Organization Ministry of Environment
URL http://www.wsabc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Okanagan-Reservoir-Lake-Project.pdf
Abstract/Description or Keywords There are numerous headwater reservoir lakes in the Okanagan Valley that have a
multitude of uses. One of these uses is the lease of lakeshore properties administered
by Land and Water British Columbia Inc. (LWBC). In the late 1980's, the Province of
British Columbia considered the option of selling waterfront properties to the lessees
throughout the province. There was considerable local opposition to the sale of these
properties on the reservoir lakes at that time resulting in this option being discarded in
the Okanagan. The opposition to the sale was the purported impact of the lease
properties on water quality.
LWBC are presently considering the sale of 141 leased properties on 16 lakes for
commercial and recreational purposes (see Figure 1). This consideration is to give the
same opportunity to the Okanagan reservoir lake leaseholders as was previously given
to the other leaseholders in the province. When this project was advertised, there was
considerable concern and opposition from local governments, irrigation districts and
some members of the public to the sales. One of the main issues of concern was the
potential impact that the sale of these leases would have on the water quality of the
lakes.
For these reasons, LWBC decided to initiate a study to determine if in fact, the sale of
leases would have an immediate or future positive or negative impact on water quality in
the headwater reservoir lakes. This study would encompass a number of scenarios as
listed in the following Methods section.
Information Type report
Regional Watershed Okanagan
Sub-watershed if known
Aquifer #
Comments
Project status complete
Contact Name
Contact Email