Development & Community Sustainability Services
Water
The RDCK recognizes the importance of protected water sources for drinking, habitat and recreation. In addition to managing 18 water systems for residential consumption, the RDCK is also exploring how to protect drinking water watershed through the Watershed Governance Initiative and advocate for safe, clean and abundant water.
The Watershed Governance Initiative team has compiled a list of possible action steps for communities seeking to protect their drinking water watersheds. This list builds on the Watershed Governance Initiative Scoping Study (2020), experience of RDCK staff, subject experts and community members.
- Identify a community lead and begin documenting everything
- Establish monitoring of water quality and quantity to create a baseline of data and upload to the Water Data Hub.
- Review your watershed on the WGI WEBMAP
- Build relationships with community groups in the area, First Nations in the region, provincial and local elected officials and staff, Living Lakes Canada, and industry members
- Request an investigation under the Drinking Water Protection Act (DWPA) – Section 29 of the DWPA provides a mechanism for someone to request that a Drinking Water Officer (DWO) investigate potential threats to their drinking water. The Act defines a threat as “a condition or thing or circumstance that may lead to a condition or thing that may result in drinking water provided by a domestic water system not being potable”
- Work with RDCK staff to create a STORY MAP of your watershed & learn what other communities have done.
- Articulate community values through a planning exercise such as:
a. Natural Asset Management Planning
b. Nature Based Planning
c. Cumulative Impact Study
- Consider pursuing Water Objectives under the Water Sustainability Act (WSA) . Objectives are best set prior to the activity in a watershed as they define future conduct, they cannot address existing or historical conflict. For more information, Polis has published a Water Objectives Innovation Brief.
Watershed Governance Initiative Projects
The Brilliant Head Ponds Stewardship Collaborative brings together residents of the Brilliant Head Ponds area communities, government, First Nations, and industry to build a stewardship plan supporting informed decision-making to manage the area’s ecological, social, cultural, and industrial values. Initiated in 2017 after a Scoping Study identified opportunities and challenges, the Brilliant Head Ponds covers the area between the Brilliant Dam and Slocan Pools, created in 1944 by damming the Kootenay River.
The Scoping Study, guided by a Steering Committee, involved leaders from Tarrys, Thrums, Glade, Shoreacres, South Slocan, the Ktunaxa First Nation, Okanagan Nation Alliance, Regional District representatives, FortisBC, and Columbia Power Corporation. Since its creation, the reservoir has been managed for hydroelectric generation, but fluctuating water levels have caused erosion, riparian damage, and invasive species introduction, prompting the need for improved planning and water management.
Learn more through the resources below:
The Yaqan Nu?Kiy and the RDCK are working together to address our growing concerns regarding water and its availability in Yaqan Nu?kiy ?Amak?is – Creston Valley.
All beings are increasingly vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis, natural disasters and pressures that agriculture, industrial activity, development and recreational use have on the watersheds in the Yaqan Nu?kiy ?Amak?is – Creston Valley.
In recent years, all beings have experienced the following effects:
- Diminishing water supply and dry drinking wells due to ongoing drought
- Heat events causing water source shortages and crop destruction
- Increased rainfall leading to overland flooding
- Milder winters resulting in shifting pest phenologies and distributions
These changes indicate the need for a new approach, and together, the Yaqan Nu?Kiy and RDCK aim to protect watersheds where consumptive water sources are at risk by fostering regional collaborative decision-making.
In May 2024, the Yaqan Nu?Kiy and the RDCK sent a letter to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS) requesting help with the concerns regarding water and stating our interest to work on a Water Sustainability Plan for the area. WLRS responded expressing support for the work completed and the work needed, including articulating the goals and terms of the project.
The Kootenay Lake Partnership was formed in 2010 as a multi-agency initiative to support management approaches for a productive and healthy Kootenay Lake ecosystem. The project envisions balanced land and water uses that sustain environmental, community, recreational, aboriginal, cultural, traditional, and aesthetic values. The mission of the Partnership is to share information and optimize available resources, in order to develop integrated, collaborative approaches to lake management.
For more information on this initiative, please visit these resources:
- Kootenay Lake Guidance Document (PDF, 1.1 MB; a living document subject to periodic revisions with version numbers provided)
- Kootenay Lake Fisheries Inventory Mapping (FIM) Report (PDF, 267 MB)
RDCK has contracted Green Analytics to create a natural asset management plan for Ymir Water System on Quartz Creek drinking water watershed. This Natural Asset Management Plan (NAMP) will inform decisions about how best to manage the Quartz Creek drinking water watershed and will consider;
(a) Managing risk with an understanding of the importance of the drinking water servicing delivered by the Quartz Creek watershed and the costs of replacing it if damaged;
(b) Reducing costs by managing this natural asset such that it can provide services in perpetuity;
(c) Maintaining the health of the watershed and Quartz Creek.
Learn more about the Ymir Water System.
The Slocan Lake Guidance Document was initiated in 2011 and completed in 2014. The project was led by the Slocan Lake Stewardship Society in conjunction with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
For more information on the initiative, please visit the Slocan Lake Stewardship Society website and explore these resources: