The Okanagan Hydrometric Connectivity Model (OHCM) was built to evaluate how water use by one community affects water availability downstream: essential for establishing valley-wide drought plans.
Using information from the Water Supply and Demand Project, the OHCM also analyzes water license priority dates to determine water entitlements during droughts, and evaluates implications of water management choices. The model is flexible, and user-friendly, and our goal is to use this approach to inform new licensing decisions.
We are also using the model to evaluate the implications of a proposed Agricultural Water Reserve, and how to include environmental water needs (fish flows) into water decisions. The work was completed by a consulting team that included Summit Environmental, Inc., DHI Inc, Polar Geoscience Ltd., and Agua Consulting Inc.
The report outlines the development of the OHCM, and highlights key results for several major water utilities derived from an examination of several water demand scenarios. It also includes recommendations to enhance and extend the model.
Download the Summary Report (32MB PDF)