Funding Partnerships

Prof. John Janmaat is congratulated on his appointment as Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF) BC Regional Innovation Chair in Water Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability by BC Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick. Participants in a ceremony at UBC announcing the endowment are, from left: Cynthia Mathieson, Dean, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences; John Janmaat; Norm Letnick; Okanagan Water Basin Board Executive Director Anna Warwick Sears; UBC Vice Provost Research and Dean of Graduate Studies Miriam Grant; UBC Provost Wesley Pue. Photo: UBC-Okanagan

Funding for Water Science and Policy Projects

In the first of a five-year commitment by the three regional districts, the OBWB contributed $100,000 in 2012 to support a Water Research Chair at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan. These funds triggered more than $1.5 million in contributions from the Province of B.C. and the Real Estate Foundation of BC.

As in other years, in 2012 the OBWB received substantial financial contributions from senior government agencies for water management initiatives, totaling more than $276,000.

These funds more than double the OBWB’s budget for water science and policy projects, and among other things, supported drilling for groundwater monitoring wells, building the BC Water Use Reporting Centre, and creating the Okanagan Hydrometric Connectivity model to help manage water shortages.

OBWB also received several grants from Natural Resources Canada to continue work on climate change adaptation, including a series of Tools Training Workshops for local government staff.