Similkameen Valley Watershed Study
Similkameen Valley Watershed Project
The Similkameen Valley's watershed is located in the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) - Areas B, G & H and includes lands under jurisdiction of the Town of Princeton, the Village of Keremeos, the Upper Similkameen Indian Band and the Lower Similkameen Indian Band. There are also six irrigation and improvement districts that operate under the authority of the B.C. Local Government Act and community water systems.
In addition to the governing bodies a society was formed to further the interests of communities in the valley - the Similkameen Valley Planning Society (SVPS). The SVPS initiated a multi-part Sustainable Similkameen Project. With funding from the BC Real Estate Foundation, the RDOS and the municipalities of Princeton and Keremeos, the SVPS sponsored the report STRATEGY for a Sustainable Similkameen Valley (2011-2020).
Sustainable Similkameen Project, click the following link: http://www.rdos.bc.ca/index.php?id=659
This report contains a number of Strategic Aims. With regards to the Watershed, Strategic Aim 2 of the Strategy is to “Sustain and rehabilitate the Valley’s environmental and natural resources health”, which includes:
Strategic Means 7: Improve water management significantly and integrate management into Valley-specific climate change, and
7.1 – Complete inventory of Valley water quality and quantity, and
7.2 – Formulate a Water Management Action Plan (including assessment and action for water impoundment and strengthening of international coordination).
The SVPS then commissioned the report, the Similkameen River Water Management Plan Part 1– Scoping Study to identify information gaps and made recommendations on how to proceed with the planning process.
Phase 1 of the planning process, as recommended in the Scoping Study, is to initiate a consultation process via a Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC), seek input from Technical Advisors and to develop a Draft Terms of Reference for a Similkameen Watershed Plan (SWP).
The Similkameen Valley Planning Society is pursuing a NON-regulatory Similkaeen Watershed Plan. The SWP is intended to provide guidance to decision-making authorities, resource managers, users and residents regarding water and land resources in the watershed. The RDOS and the SVPS are leading the process.
For More Information:
Stakeholders Advisory Committee
Fraser Basin Council website 'Rethinking Our Water Ways', click the following link to view : http://www.rethinkingwater.ca/
Rethinking Our Water Ways guide by Fraser Basin Council
Meeting Minutes:
Meeting Power Point Presentations:
A Healthy Future for Water, Land and Wildlife in the Similkameen
Groundwater Legislation and Government Tools
BC Ministry of Agriculture: Agricultural Irrigation Demand Model