The recent celebration of Earth Week last month was marked in the Central Okanagan by $350,000 in grants to support water conservation and quality improvement projects.
Through the Okanagan Basin Water Board’s Water Conservation and Quality Improvement (WCQI) Grant Program, the program received 22 grant applications with a total ask of $587,637.
“There was a very good response to the call for applications,” said Carolina Restrepo-Tamayo, OBWB’s operations and grants manager.
Each year, the OBWB’s board of directors adopts a theme for additional consideration when reviewing applications.
This year’s theme was “from data to action for community resilience,” encouraging the use of open data developed by the OBWB and others to address Okanagan water challenges.
One of the successful applicants was City of Kelowna for its project “Marinas and drinking water intakes on Okanagan Lake: A data-guided assessment of potential effects of a proposed marina in Sutherland Bay on the Poplar Point intake.”
The project will make use of the OBWB’s LiDAR bathymetry data, looking at water depth, as well as information from its Okanagan Basin water quality database.
“It is a very relevant topic,” explained Restrepo-Tamayo. “Development is going to happen and there will likely be more boating on Okanagan Lake.
“What is the impact of this on water quality? The more aware we are of the issues, the more communities will be able to address concerns,” she said.
She added the study results and proposed solutions may help other Okanagan municipalities when reviewing marina applications.
Another project funded this year is a “Lower Chute Creek Restoration and Reconstruction” project led by the recently-formed Chute Creek Stewardship Society.
This project on an Okanagan Lake tributary will address flood protection for residents but also work with Penticton Indian Band and Okanagan Nation Alliance to include traditional ecological knowledge in creek restoration efforts to bring back the salmon.
“It’s a very good example of how a community can come together with a collaborative project to improve and protect water quality,” said Restrepo-Tamayo.
Okanagan Nation Alliance also received funds for an “Okanagan Reservoir Operation–Optimization Guidance” project.
As noted in their application, “historically, reservoir management was largely focused on retaining water to support summer irrigation needs.” Today, reservoir managers also have to manage flooding, drought, and environmental flow needs to help ensure a healthy aquatic ecosystem.
This project will review current management practices, capture historical Syilx knowledge and perspectives on water management, and result in a guide to help reservoir managers meet the challenges they are facing.
“This is a great example of merging Indigenous knowledge and Western science,” Restrepo-Tamayo said.
“The guide will help address the challenges of today and in the years ahead as we continue to see the impacts of climate change on water availability.”
Including grants and in-kind donations from others, this year’s projects have combined budgets of over $3.37 million going toward water improvements in the Okanagan.
Since the WCQI program began in 2006, and with this latest award of 16 grants, the board has now provided 331 grants to Okanagan non-profits, First Nations, local governments and irrigation districts, worth more than $5.82 million.
For a full listing of this year’s funded projects check out the WCQI database at https://www.obwb.ca/wcqi_project/.
READ MORE: Water briefs: Okanagan has voice in cross-border talks