The Okanagan Basin Water Board hosted an Okanagan Water Supply Webinar on May 8, to review the current and forecasted water supply for 2018 in the valley.
Updates from:
💧Environment Canada – Doug Lundquist
💧BC River Forecast Centre – Dave Campbell
💧Province of BC’s Shaun Reimer – responsible for Okanagan Lake dam management
💧International Joint Commission re: Osoyoos Lake management
💧as well as updates on groundwater and fire risk
SYNOPSIS: While we’re already experiencing flooding in some areas of our valley, recent warm temperatures are helping the mid-elevation snowpack melt fast. Forecasted rains are only going to make it melt faster and add to water levels. Shallow aquifers are continuing to trend above average. It’s too early to say whether or not we will be getting our mid-May/early June monsoon rains.
That said, there’s a high probability of a hotter-than-average summer. And, despite the snowpack and above-average shallow aquifers in the valley-bottom, there is low fuel moisture in our forests due to last summer’s drought and recent previous droughts. With the possibility of another dry summer, we are looking at another potential drought this summer, leading to a moderate to high fire risk.
View YouTube recording below: