Water Stewardship Information Sources
| ID | 756 |
|---|---|
| Citation | Grainger and Associates Consulting Ltd and Streamworks Unlimited. 2010. Penticton Creek Hydrological Risk Assessment. Prepared for BC Ministry of Environment. |
| Organization | Ministry of Environment |
| URL | http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/acat/documents/r20197/PentictonHydrologicRiskAssess_1289849233167_70fbef1175a65414bf07ece26d6b554abbd526d178f9bc62cc85918ccf87a948.pdf |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | Grainger and Associates Consulting Ltd. and Streamworks Unlimited completed an analysis of Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) and salvage harvesting-related risks to water quality, water supply, fish habitat and infrastructure in Penticton Creek Community Watershed. Penticton Creek has a 194km2 basin draining into Okanagan Lake through the City of Penticton. It is a primary water source for domestic, agricultural and other users in the City of Penticton (CoP). The hydrological effects of MPB and salvage harvest forest cover disturbance were analysed using recent research findings on snow accumulation and melt effects under different forest canopy conditions, including the effects of dead pine trees, non-pine overstory, and understory seedlings, saplings and poles in MPB-attacked stands (Huggard and Lewis, 2008). Canopy change effects are expressed as equivalent clearcut area (ECA). Stand structure data for ECA modeling was collected in 245 random plots in 30 accessible pineleading stands in the hydrologically sensitive upper watershed ﾓsnow zoneﾔ, in seven South Okanagan watersheds near and including Penticton Creek. Over 70% of these VRI labelled pineleading stands had a non-pine overstory averaging 25 to 69% of total overstory basal area, and healthy understory averaging 560 to 1000 well-spaced stems/ha >1.3m tall. These stands will have a significant hydrological function, even when all pine in the stand is dead. Stand data was used to model two watershed level management scenarios. In the unharvested MPB scenario, all pine trees in pine-leading stands (>40% pine) are assumed to be killed by MPB, and no further forest harvesting activity takes place in the watershed. In the full clearcut salvage scenario all pine-leading stands are clearcut harvested, with the exception of riparian zones, old growth management and other areas designated as long-term reserves by forest licensees. For each of these scenarios, stand ECA data was rolled up into watershed or sub-basin ECAs. Figure 10 shows the results for the watershed above the CoP intake. |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Okanagan |
| Sub-watershed if known | Penticton Creek |
| Aquifer # | |
| Comments | |
| Project status | complete |
| Contact Name | Bill Grainger |
| Contact Email | [email protected] |