Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Columbia Basin Water Hub

Local experts call for more West Kootenay data to adapt to climate change

Local experts call for more West Kootenay data to adapt to climate change

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.”

Columbia Basin Water Hub helps fill gaps in water knowledge

Columbia Basin Water Hub helps fill gaps in water knowledge

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.

Water Hub new home for Columbia Basin water data

Water Hub new home for Columbia Basin water data

The Columbia Basin Water Hub is a new open-source online platform for storing water-related data collected throughout the Columbia Basin region so communities and decision makers can have easy access to the important information they need for watershed management in an era of climate change. Climate change impacts on Columbia Basin water resources have been documented in numerous reports dating back to 2006. Last June, the University of British Columbia published a 30-year study suggesting the glacier-melt contributions in the Canadian Columbia Basin have already passed peak water, exacerbating a regional climate-driven trend to decreased summer streamflows.

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