| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
BX Creek flows south from Silver Star Provincial Park and into Swan Lake, at the north edge of Vernon (Figure 1). The BX Creek community watershed has been mapped by BC Environment as comprising that portion of the drainage area upstream of a water license location on BX Ranch, with a drainage area of 7,050 hectares. This is incorrect. The City of Vernon water intake, the location at which water is removed from the creek for community use, is located approximately 2 km upstream of the BX Ranch site. The drainage area for the BX Creek community watershed upstream of the City of Vernon intake is 5,260 hectares (52.6 km2), and is shown on Figure 2. This report will generally refer to watershed upstream of the City of Vernon water intake, but will also address the land area defined by BC Environment as part of the community watershed. BX Creek has been used as a principal water supply by the residents of the City of Vernon for a number of decades. In addition, the watershed is used for a variety of land uses which potentially conflict with an objective of maintaining water quality. These land uses include forest harvesting and road construction on Crown land, recreation , and large variety of private land uses, including residential development, extensive private land logging, crop and animal agriculture, light industry, and others. Forest harvesting in the watershed is largely managed by the Vernon Forest District's Small Business Forest Enterprise Program (SBFEP) and Tolko Industries Ltd. The SBFEP operates in the south-western portion of the watershed, in the area of Brookside Creek and Dixon Creek. Tolko operates in the north-west portion of the watershed, in the Kedleston Creek and Abbott Creek area. In addition, a woodlot (license no. 337) is located in the Kedleston and Abbott Creek basins. Under the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, watershed assessments are required where timber harvesting or road building is to be carried under a forest development plan area within a community watershed. This report presents the results of that assessment. The objectives of the report are to: 1) define the potential negative cumulative or site-specific effects of past forest practices, and other land uses, on the watershed's hydrology, slope and channel geomorphology, and water quality; 2) provide guidance on continued forest operations. Although the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act refers specifically only to forest practices, the assessment includes reference to other land uses which potentially effect water quality. |
