Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Residents of the Columbia Basin and beyond gathered online Oct.18, hoping their concerns about the low water levels of the Arrow Lakes reservoir would be addressed. The 90-minute presentation focused on the situation through the lens of the Columbia River Treaty, and the current negotiations happening to modernize it.
The latest round of negotiations between Canada and the United States over the modernization of a decades-old water-management agreement have wrapped up following discussions in Vancouver this week. The two countries are working to update the Columbia River Treaty, a flood management and power generation accord involving the Columbia and Kootenay river systems in the Columbia Basin region of British Columbia and the United States pacific northwest.
It took until 2022, but water finally made it onto the official agenda of a UN Climate Change Conference. ‘Water Day’ was designated for November 14 at the recent COP27 climate change conference in Egypt where 190 countries had assembled to discuss climate action. Water Day discussions covered water scarcity, drought, early warning systems, and cross boundary cooperation, with one entire session devoted to the critical importance of monitoring and managing river basin systems.
A mountain of data will be needed to get the full picture of climate change impacts on the West Kootenay ecosystem, say planners, scientists, and members of the region’s environmental community. To draw attention to two web-based tools for water and climate data in the Columbia Basin, Nelson-based non-governmental organization Living Lakes Canada brought together a panel of local experts on Oct. 12. “The idea is that we don’t have enough data on our watersheds in the Columbia Basin to make informed decisions about how to react to climate change,” said Nicole Trigg, communications director for Living Lakes Canada. “This was a great opening conversation on a very important topic.”
Living Lakes Canada is hosting a new webinar series to learn, share, and understand the traditional relationship that Indigenous Peoples have with and for water. The webinar, titled Indigenous Water Relations within the Columbia Basin, aims to recognize and appreciate the Indigenous Peoples’ Place-Based cultural practices, as well as the responsibility felt towards water. The three-series webinars will be held via Zoom, led by two presenters from each of the three Indigenous Peoples. Ktunaxa will lead the first on Oct. 26, followed by Secwepmec on Nov. 2 and concluded by Sylis-Okanagan/Sinixt on Nov. 9. For those unable to attend, recordings will be available afterwards on the Living Lakes Canada website.
As the Columbia Basin continues to experience the impacts of climate change, there is a mounting need to share water knowledge. Water-related data is used by decision makers to understand watershed health and the sustainability of communities and natural ecosystems. “As we continue to experience climate change impacts, our water resources are put under stress, so we need to have the necessary knowledge to properly and efficiently adapt when water levels drop,” said Santiago Botero, applied innovation and technology manager for Living Lakes Canada.
Unprecedented changes are taking place in our rivers, creeks, and lakes. To ensure the long-term protection of our water sources, community-based water monitoring is becoming an increasingly important tool at local and regional levels. Water monitoring is used by governments and communities to assess the health of our watersheds and improve decision-making about our freshwater supply. Community-based water monitoring (CBWM) allows citizens to partner with decision-makers and work collectively towards watershed management.
This is the first of four articles submitted by Living Lakes Canada (LLC), the respected Columbia Basin-based water stewardship group that works to monitor and protect Canada’s lakes, rivers, wetlands, and watersheds. After a record-breaking summer of heat, drought, and fires, experts in the Columbia Basin are stressing the importance of water monitoring and watershed management to secure our water supplies.
Non-profit water stewardship organization Living Lakes Canada (LLC) says that the hot, smoky and dry conditions experienced throughout the Columbia Basin over the past summer aren’t the only indicators of accelerated climate change, and that low groundwater levels have also shown a decrease in some aquifers from last year to now. Groundwater data is obtained from aquifers LLC monitors as part of their Columbia Basin Groundwater Monitoring Program. An aquifer is an underground layer of broken rock, gravel, sand or silt that contains groundwater.
Living Lakes Canada is receiving $1 million from the Healthy Watersheds Initiative, which is delivered by the Real Estate Foundation of BC and Watersheds BC, with financial support from the Province of British Columbia as part of its $10-billion COVID-19 response. The funding will go to development of a collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in the Columbia Basin to determine water monitoring priorities, and to train 25 people to conduct water monitoring and water-related restoration work. The data will help build climate resilience throughout the region, where melting glaciers, drier weather and diminished stream flows are signs that climate change is affecting water resources.
