Water Stewardship Information Sources
| ID | 43 |
|---|---|
| Citation | Anderson, D (ed.). 2004. Lemieux Creek Water Availability Study. Prepared for Land and Water British Columbia Inc. |
| Organization | Ministry of Environment |
| URL | http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/acat/public/viewReport.do?reportId=12942 |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | Study Area Lemieux Creek became a pilot study area where the above method evolved. The Lemieux Creek watershed was selected for this study because: ﾕ it has high fishery values, ﾕ has documented low flow and channel de-watering issues that impact the fishery, ﾕ there are a number of outstanding water licence applications, and ﾕ there has been a moratorium on further water licensing pending more work to understand the flow regime and in-stream flow requirements. Results The results from this study confirm that Lemieux Creek has chronic low flow problems at the mouth and 7km upstream. It is apparent that full-term (until September 30th) water licenses can not be issued, as streamflows fall below the aquatic flow standard during early August and this deficit continues beyond September 30th. A slight in-stream deficit is estimated on August 8th at the mouth of Lemieux Creek. This is based on an aquatic flow requirement of 0.612 m3 /s (20% of the Mean Annual Discharge) for summer rearing, and an 80% chance that this discharge will occur in any year. When the aquatic flow requirement is reduced by 50%, an in-stream surplus of 0.194 m3 /s is estimated on Lemieux Creek at the mouth on August 15th, based on the same chance of stream flow recurrence. Streamflow surpluses and deficits were also estimated for other reaches on the Lemieux Creek mainstem. The results indicate that the cut-off for new irrigation water license applications is likely to be between August 1st and 15th, depending on the aquatic flow criteria used. Key Recommendations The pending irrigation water license applications for Lemieux Creek should have a cutoff date between August 1st and August 15th, depending on the in-stream flow criteria used. Diversions to water storage structures within Lemieux Creek should be limited to the April 1st to June 15th so as to conserve natural streamflow during the rest of the year. A streamlined form of the steps in this report should be used in future water availability studies. WAT should be used only as a screening tool. However, WAT may have limited application due to insufficient hydrometric record, and/or uncertainty about the timing and volumes of water withdrawn that prevents the naturalization of the hydrometric record in a statistically defensible manner. The Ministry's flood frequency analysis utility (FFAME) should be used to quantify streamflow surpluses for a water licensing decision. In order to reduce the potential for baseflow depletion in areas with chronic water shortage and water-use conflicts, a two tiered approach is proposed. Tier I deals with groundwater licensing, whereas Tier II covers options for area-based long-term planning. Tier I - Decision-makers are provided with a framework for considering the cumulative effect of existing groundwater production on streamflow. With respect to the incremental effect of new water wells on baseflow, new groundwater legislation should require proposed wells with a design production rate in excess of an appropriate threshold for the area to be subject to review. This review would include an assessment of sustained yield and potential impacts on other water users. Tier II - Proposed legislation for Water Management Plans (Part 4 of the Water Act) should be used to implement effective water resource management in priority areas with chronic water shortages. This includes provisions for the establishment of Area Authority to manage the water resources across multiple jurisdictions with conflicting uses. The approach favours the integration of surface and groundwater management into a comprehensive framework. water supply, groundwater-surface water interaction, allocation |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Thompson |
| Sub-watershed if known | Lemieux Creek |
| Aquifer # | |
| Comments | |
| Project status | complete |
| Contact Name | Des Anderson |
| Contact Email | [email protected] |