Water Stewardship Information Sources
| ID | 1707 |
|---|---|
| Citation | Summit Environmental Consultants LTd. 2010. Okanagan Water Supply and Demand Project: Phase 2 Summary Report. Prepared for Okanagan Basin Water Board. |
| Organization | OBWB |
| URL | http://www.obwb.ca/wsd/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/339_2011_summary_report.pdf |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | OVERVIEW The Canadian Okanagan Basin (the Basin), in the southern interior of British Columbia, is the subject of the Okanagan Water Supply and Demand Project. Because of relatively high rates of water use, variable water supply, and the understanding that population growth and climate change could impact water supply and demand and the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems, in 2004 the Province initiated a project to investigate the supply of and demand for water in the Basin. The first Phase of the Project identified the information that could be used, and prepared a plan to complete the investigation. Phase 2 of the Project was initiated in 2007 by the Okanagan Basin Water Board in partnership with the Province; and was completed in collaboration with a large number of federal and provincial agencies and the Okanagan Nation Alliance. This report is a summary of Phase 2 of the Project. OBJECTIVES The objectives of Phase 2 were achieved: ﾕ Completion of comprehensive basin-wide scientific studies on water supply and demand, updating work last completed in the early 1970s; ﾕ Development of three sophisticated computer models for simulating water movement in the Okanagan: the Okanagan Water Demand Model (OWDM) that is used to determine water needs for various human uses, the Okanagan Basin Hydrology Model (OBHM), and the Okanagan Basin Water Accounting Model (OBWAM) - used to estimate natural streamflows and the effects of water storage and extractions on streamflows, groundwater, and lake levels; and ﾕ Examining a few scenarios using the models to illustrate how they can be used to examine water alternatives under a changing climate, a growing population, a changing agricultural land base, continuation of the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic, and changing water use efficiency. The most important result of Phase 2 is the successful development of these sophisticated Okanagan-custom computer models. They are powerful state-of-the-art tools that can be used to simulate future water conditions in the Okanagan, and estimate the influence of both climate change and human decisions on water use and streamflows. These models also provide a way to determine how a water use or management decision made in one area of the Basin can affect another area of the Basin. These models will be useful to researchers, water suppliers, local, provincial, and federal government agencies, First Nations, and others with an interest in investigating the potential influences of natural events and human decisions on water resources. climate change, water management, watershed management, allocation, water supply, water yield, water balance |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Okanagan |
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| Project status | complete |
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