| Resource Name |
Chapman, A., Kerr, B. andWilford, D. (2012): Hydrological modelling and decision-support tool development for water allocation, northeastern British Columbia; in Geoscience BC Summary of Activities 2011, Geoscience BC, Report 2012-1, p. 81–86. |
| Resource Purpose |
In northeastern British Columbia, unconventional gas development requires large quantities of water, with the largest volumes of water used for hydraulic fracturing for well stimulation and completion. The management of water for industrial uses is the responsibility of the BC Oil and Gas Commission (OGC), through short-term water use approvals, and the BCMinistry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource
Operations (FLNRO), through long-term water licenses. For much of northeastern BC, there is a dearth of hydrometric measurements to directly support decisionmaking under the Water Act. As a result, there is a strong need for hydrologicalmodelling to provide quantified estimates ofmonthly, seasonal and annual runoff thus allowing estimations of water availability for water use approvals. A hydrological modelling pilot project (Chapman and Kerr, 2011), utilizing available gridded climate data and land cover/vegetation data, and encompassing the Horn River Basin and Liard Basin gas play areas, concluded that there is utility in pursuing amonthlywater balancemodelling approach. Following the pilot project, the OGC, in partnership with Geoscience BC and FLNRO, is now extending and fine-tuning the hydrological modelling to all of northeastern BC. This paper summarizes the current status of the modelling project as of November 2011. The project is anticipated to be completed in early 2012. |
