Water Stewardship Information Sources
| Citation | Schnorbus, M. and D. Rodenhuis, 2010: Assessing Hydrologic Impacts on Water Resources in BC – Summary Report Joint Workshop BC Hydro 20 April 2010. Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, 37 pp |
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| Organization | PCIC |
| URL | https://pacificclimate.org/sites/default/files/publications/Schnorbus.BCHWorkshopReport.Aug2010.pdf |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | The workshop on “Assessing Hydrologic Impacts on Water Resources in BC: Current Accomplishments and Future Vision” took place on 20 April 2010 at BC Hydro offices in Burnaby, BC. The key objectives of the workshop were threefold: to present PCIC accomplishments resulting from collaborative work with BC Hydro over the past three years to engage with and attract potential new consortium members to explore the implications of PCIC’s hydrologic impacts research for BC Hydro’s future adaptation and resource planning activities Presentations were made by BC Hydro, Hydro-Québec, the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), Ouranos, the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group (CIG) and the Western Canadian Cryospheric Network (WC2N). The introductory session provided the context and background for PCIC’s current accomplishments and future direction. BC Hydro’s collaboration with PCIC stems from an acknowledgement of the need to take a long-term view towards its operations and to remain aware of the potential for changes in the natural environment that could affect the delivery of its services. PCIC’s collaborative nature and its unique expertise and potential for a province-wide capacity for responding to changing climate conditions have made a positive impression on BC Presentations from Hydro-Québec provided background, context and guidance on their approach to understanding and adapting to the effects of climate change on power generation operations. Hydroelectric power generation in Québec is highly climate dependent, as it is in BC. Consequently, Hydro-Québec recognized the strategic importance of evaluating the impacts of climate change and actively participated in the creation of the Ouranos consortium. Their research indicates that northern Québec may expect a surplus of runoff in the future in an area where Hydro-Québec generates a significant amount of power. Nevertheless, a lack of adaptation (structural and non-structural) could result in a 14% decrease in power generation, despite the increase in water availability. Based on information presented throughout the morning workshop, participants had an opportunity to discuss and reflect on climate change implications and challenges with respect to five broad topics: power generation, aquatic ecosystems, extreme events, energy planning and trans-boundary water management. For power generation it was recognized that different systems (e.g., coastal versus interior) could be affected differently by climate change and that the ability for BC Hydro to adapt will be strongly affected by current reservoir storage capacity. Power generated by independent power producers (IPPs) may be particularly sensitive to climate change effects. The implications of climate change on aquatic ecosystems are changes to the amount and timing of streamflow and changes in water quality (e.g., water temperature). It was acknowledged that aquatic ecosystem response to local and regional change or disturbance is a large and complex problem requiring more research. Nevertheless, BC Hydro operations may need to be modified in order to mitigate the effects of climate change on aquatic ecosystem health, with possible tradeoffs concerning power generation. Changes in the frequency and magnitude of extreme events due to climate change were recognized as an important focus of future research as implications extend from energy demand to infrastructure maintenance and operations, public safety and ecosystem health. Future energy planning must focus on the direct effects of climate change on both power generation and energy demand. However, it was also recognized that projections of electricity demand will be affected by other factors unrelated to climate change (e.g., population growth, economic growth, energy pricing) or paradoxically related to climate change mitigation efforts (e.g., fuel switching and carbon taxation). Trans-boundary water management will possibly add an additional element of complexity when adapting to climate change. Trans-boundary water management (whether provincial or international) can constrain our ability to adapt to meet (potentially) competing domestic demands, particularly if it is conducted under the auspices of a formal treaty (e.g., the Columbia River Treaty). Hydro. More generally, the BC government has included adaptation as part of the province’s Climate Action Plan, thereby strengthening its commitment to key activities such as the development of knowledge and tools for assisting public and private sector decision-makers prepare for adaptation to climate change. Historical trends in mean temperature over the past century in BC (1901-2004) indicate that mean, minimum and maximum temperatures are increasing, with the greatest increases observed in minimum temperatures. This indicates that temperatures in BC are becoming less cool, rather than warmer. These trends in average temperature have been accelerating, especially in winter, over the last 50 years. Precipitation in the past century (1901-2004) has also been increasing, especially in some of the driest regions of the province and particularly in the winter. In general, streamflow is shifting within hydro-climatic regimes, with coastal systems transitioning to rainfall regimes, and interior systems experiencing loss of snowpack which can lead to lower summer flows. Snowpack is declining across the province and in many regions outside BC to the south. Climate change projections for BC indicate that observed streamflow changes are expected to continue into the future. Increased temperatures will result in more rainfall and less snowfall, driving a shift to earlier freshet runoff in watersheds in north-eastern and south-eastern BC and potentially more dramatic regime shifts in coastal watersheds. An analysis of reservoir operations in the US portion of the Columbia River suggests that the existing management balance between hydroelectric power, flood control and in-stream flow augmentation will be disrupted by climate change, requiring adjustments in reservoir operating policies. As well, trans-boundary relationships between Canada and the United States will also be impacted by climate change. Uncertainty of climate impact projections, which stems from several sources, was identified as a critical issue requiring further investigation. In particular, there is a need to understand the magnitude of uncertainty attributable to the natural variability of the climate system, which cannot be reduced. |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Province |
| Sub-watershed if known | |
| Aquifer # | |
| Comments | |
| Project status | complete |
| Contact Name | Markus Schnorbus |
| Contact Email | [email protected] |