March 22, 2016 – Penticton Western News
The Okanagan Basin Water Board is going all out to mark United Nations World Water Day this week.
Working with the Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services, they’ve invited internationally celebrated water champion Margaret Catley-Carlson to give the keynote address at a panel discussion and mixer on March 22 at the Laurel Packinghouse in Kelowna.
This year’s event, exSTREAMS: The Okanagan water story and you looks at the valley’s droughts and floods both from a historical First Nation’s perspective, as well as how these extreme weather events are changing in frequency and intensity. It will look at how Okanagan communities are working together to address droughts and floods, and how individuals can be part of that effort.
“The Okanagan is known for its beautiful big lakes, but this has contributed to a myth of abundance. The truth is, we live in a place where water is not abundant and what we do on the landscape is changing the availability of water,” said BRAES director Lael Parrott. “Removing natural land cover increases the impacts of flooding and drought, but protecting and restoring this land cover can help protect us from these weather extremes.”