Water Stewardship Information Sources
| ID | 1333 |
|---|---|
| Citation | Nicola WUMP Multi-Stakeholder Committee. 2010. Nicola Water Use Management Plan. Nicola Watershed Community Round Table. |
| Organization | NWCRT |
| URL | http://www.nwcrt.org/downloads/Final_Nicola_WUMP_March%202010.pdf |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | Without water there is no life. The quantity, accessibility and quality of water have a direct bearing on the health, well-being, prosperity and sustainability of a region's human, animal, and plant populations. As the number of people who call the Nicola watershed home continues to grow, and as the local economy expands to meet the needs of that growing population, there will be increased pressures on the available water resources. Increased competition for this vital natural resource will lead to conflict between various users if equitable ﾑrules of the game' are not developed. To avoid conflicts and to address existing and emerging water issues, residents of the Nicola watershed and others have developed a water use management plan. On October 14-15 of 2004 the Nicola Watershed Community Round Table held a workshop in Merritt entitled Charting Our Water Future. The catalyst for the workshop was a series of events2 associated with the drought of 2003. The workshop brought together a large and varied group of people who were interested in proactively addressing the ongoing water management issues that the region was experiencing. Following the workshop an inaugural meeting of what is now known as the Nicola WUMP (Water Use Management Plan) was held. A four-phased planning process was adopted. Phases I and 2 have been completed. The evaluation by the community as part of Phase 3 has been completed. Opportunities were also provided for First Nations and all levels of government to provide feedback on the draft plan. In requesting meetings with First Nations, WUMP made it clear that these were not formal consultations and were without prejudice to title and rights. Phase 4 consists of implementing the plan and adapting it as new information is collected and assessed. The main purpose of the plan is to, ﾓensure that the future water supply will be divided equitably among all water users balancing the community's social, economic, traditional and ecological valuesﾔ. In other words, the plan is meant to address critical water issues that have occurred or which are likely to occur in the immediate future. Some of the general issues instrumental in driving the development of a WUMP included: ? Insufficient water for both irrigation and fish (instream flow needs) during summer and early fall low flows; ? New zoning and land development pressures, in certain areas, have led to greater water demand and placed greater risk of insufficient water supplies being available to meet existing water uses. ? Inadequate groundwater controls or regulations, in place, which further threaten base flows in streams. Without some regulation, there is a loophole for persons wanting access to surface water (e.g. pending water license applications), as they could simply drill wells into Without water there is no life. The quantity, accessibility and quality of water have a direct bearing on the health, well-being, prosperity and sustainability of a region's human, animal, and plant populations. As the number of people who call the Nicola watershed home continues to grow, and as the local economy expands to meet the needs of that growing population, there will be increased pressures on the available water resources. Increased competition for this vital natural resource will lead to conflict between various users if equitable ﾑrules of the game' are not developed. To avoid conflicts and to address existing and emerging water issues, residents of the Nicola watershed and others have developed a water use management plan. On October 14-15 of 2004 the Nicola Watershed Community Round Table held a workshop in Merritt entitled Charting Our Water Future. The catalyst for the workshop was a series of events2 associated with the drought of 2003. The workshop brought together a large and varied group of people who were interested in proactively addressing the ongoing water management issues that the region was experiencing. Following the workshop an inaugural meeting of what is now known as the Nicola WUMP (Water Use Management Plan) was held. A four-phased planning process was adopted. Phases I and 2 have been completed. The evaluation by the community as part of Phase 3 has been completed. Opportunities were also provided for First Nations and all levels of government to provide feedback on the draft plan. In requesting meetings with First Nations, WUMP made it clear that these were not formal consultations and were without prejudice to title and rights. Phase 4 consists of implementing the plan and adapting it as new information is collected and assessed. The main purpose of the plan is to, ﾓensure that the future water supply will be divided equitably among all water users balancing the community's social, economic, traditional and ecological valuesﾔ. In other words, the plan is meant to address critical water issues that have occurred or which are likely to occur in the immediate future. Some of the general issues instrumental in driving the development of a WUMP included: ? Insufficient water for both irrigation and fish (instream flow needs) during summer and early fall low flows; ? New zoning and land development pressures, in certain areas, have led to greater water demand and placed greater risk of insufficient water supplies being available to meet existing water uses. ? Inadequate groundwater controls or regulations, in place, which further threaten base flows in streams. Without some regulation, there is a loophole for persons wanting access to surface water (e.g. pending water license applications), as they could simply drill wells into Without water there is no life. The quantity, accessibility and quality of water have a direct bearing on the health, well-being, prosperity and sustainability of a region's human, animal, and plant populations. As the number of people who call the Nicola watershed home continues to grow, and as the local economy expands to meet the needs of that growing population, there will be increased pressures on the available water resources. Increased competition for this vital natural resource will lead to conflict between various users if equitable ﾑrules of the game' are not developed. To avoid conflicts and to address existing and emerging water issues, residents of the Nicola watershed and others have developed a water use management plan. On October 14-15 of 2004 the Nicola Watershed Community Round Table held a workshop in Merritt entitled Charting Our Water Future. The catalyst for the workshop was a series of events2 associated with the drought of 2003. The workshop brought together a large and varied group of people who were interested in proactively addressing the ongoing water management issues that the region was experiencing. Following the workshop an inaugural meeting of what is now known as the Nicola WUMP (Water Use Management Plan) was held. A four-phased planning process was adopted. Phases I and 2 have been completed. The evaluation by the community as part of Phase 3 has been completed. Opportunities were also provided for First Nations and all levels of government to provide feedback on the draft plan. In requesting meetings with First Nations, WUMP made it clear that these were not formal consultations and were without prejudice to title and rights. Phase 4 consists of implementing the plan and adapting it as new information is collected and assessed. The main purpose of the plan is to, ﾓensure that the future water supply will be divided equitably among all water users balancing the community's social, economic, traditional and ecological valuesﾔ. In other words, the plan is meant to address critical water issues that have occurred or which are likely to occur in the immediate future. Some of the general issues instrumental in driving the development of a WUMP included: ? Insufficient water for both irrigation and fish (instream flow needs) during summer and early fall low flows; ? New zoning and land development pressures, in certain areas, have led to greater water demand and placed greater risk of insufficient water supplies being available to meet existing water uses. ? Inadequate groundwater controls or regulations, in place, which further threaten base flows in streams. Without some regulation, there is a loophole for persons wanting access to surface water (e.g. pending water license applications), as they could simply drill wells into Without water there is no life. The quantity, accessibility and quality of water have a direct bearing on the health, well-being, prosperity and sustainability of a region's human, animal, and plant populations. As the number of people who call the Nicola watershed home continues to grow, and as the local economy expands to meet the needs of that growing population, there will be increased pressures on the available water resources. Increased competition for this vital natural resource will lead to conflict between various users if equitable ﾑrules of the game' are not developed. To avoid conflicts and to address existing and emerging water issues, residents of the Nicola watershed and others have developed a water use management plan. On October 14-15 of 2004 the Nicola Watershed Community Round Table held a workshop in Merritt entitled Charting Our Water Future. The catalyst for the workshop was a series of events2 associated with the drought of 2003. The workshop brought together a large and varied group of people who were interested in proactively addressing the ongoing water management issues that the region was experiencing. Following the workshop an inaugural meeting of what is now known as the Nicola WUMP (Water Use Management Plan) was held. A four-phased planning process was adopted. Phases I and 2 have been completed. The evaluation by the community as part of Phase 3 has been completed. Opportunities were also provided for First Nations and all levels of government to provide feedback on the draft plan. In requesting meetings with First Nations, WUMP made it clear that these were not formal consultations and were without prejudice to title and rights. Phase 4 consists of implementing the plan and adapting it as new information is collected and assessed. The main purpose of the plan is to, ﾓensure that the future water supply will be divided equitably among all water users balancing the community's social, economic, traditional and ecological valuesﾔ. In other words, the plan is meant to address critical water issues that have occurred or which are likely to occur in the immediate future. Some of the general issues instrumental in driving the development of a WUMP included: ? Insufficient water for both irrigation and fish (instream flow needs) during summer and early fall low flows; ? New zoning and land development pressures, in certain areas, have led to greater water demand and placed greater risk of insufficient water supplies being available to meet existing water uses. ? Inadequate groundwater controls or regulations, in place, which further threaten base flows in streams. Without some regulation, there is a loophole for persons wanting access to surface water (e.g. pending water license applications), as they could simply drill wells into watershed management, water supply, allocation, groundwater, environmental flow need, salmonids, EFN, climate change, land use planning, stream temperature, water quality |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Nicola |
| Sub-watershed if known | |
| Aquifer # | |
| Comments | |
| Project status | complete |
| Contact Name | |
| Contact Email | [email protected] |