Concerns regarding the impacts of record-low snowpacks on B.C.’s freshwater supplies are mounting following the release of the provincial government’s most recent snow survey report.
According to the BC River Forecast Centre’s snow survey as of Feb. 1, the province-wide snowpack remains very low, averaging 39 per cent below normal, compared to 21 per cent this time last year.
In the Columbia Basin, average snowpack in the Upper Columbia, West Kootenay and East Kootenay regions is sitting at 30 per cent, 33 per cent and 37 per cent below normal respectively, and current trends in low snowpack are expected to persist.
The likelihood of another record drought this summer is significant, says Living Lakes Canada.
“The low snowpack being recorded across the Columbia Basin has concerning implications for water supply throughout the rest of 2024,” explains Paige Thurston, of Living Lake Canada.
Thurston’s role with the non-profit is program manager for the Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework.
“Unless conditions shift in the next few months, communities should be prepared for low stream flows this summer,” she adds.
“It will be critical that we track water and climate conditions throughout the year and respond accordingly.”
Snowpack serves as a natural reservoir, gradually releasing water during the spring snowmelt. Meltwater recharges rivers, streams, wetlands, lakes and groundwater. Reduced snowpack levels pose a threat to the availability of freshwater critical for agriculture, community water systems, and ecosystem health.
In the Kootenay region, where Living Lakes Canada is based, the record wildfire and drought of 2023 had devastating consequences including home losses, damaged municipal water supply structures, increased water restrictions, drops in aquifer levels, low flows in rivers and streams, and wetlands and lakes drying out.
To better understand the impacts of climate change on water availability, Living Lakes Canada says it has been implementing a coordinated monitoring network across the region.
Living Lakes says that data is already being used to support community climate adaptation planning, assess wildfire impacts on water quality, inform restoration projects and regional model validation, and guide sustainable water usage.
“As a member of the BC Watershed Security Coalition, Living Lakes Canada joins numerous other organizations across the province calling for strong, decisive action by the B.C. Government in response to severe drought conditions experienced in 2023 and beginning now for 2024,” said Kat Hartwig, Living Lakes Canada executive director. “We continue to work with all levels of government to safeguard water.”
The impacts of climate change on water security were forecast by scientists decades ago, Hartwig says, “when we had the opportunity to plan ahead, instead of being immersed in a costly, reactionary cycle, trying to address the current reality of flood, drought, fires, repeat. At this stage, it is essential to rapidly generate collaborative problem-solving approaches both provincially and at the local scale where the impacts occur.”
To safeguard freshwater, the BC Watershed Security Coalition is calling for the province to create a Watershed Management System across B.C. and invest $75M annually into a Watershed Security Fund.
