This review is a good starting point to raise awareness of the program, and the various reports, websites, locations, methods and partnerships that it has helped to facilitate. As you read through the following summaries, you will find that many projects have found innovative solutions to difficult problems. Several projects have used standard methods to address serious gaps in water management or planning. Other projects have been used to raise awareness of our common need to protect and conserve. In a number of cases, information gathered through similar projects in different jurisdictions (for example, foreshore inventories) have been amalgamated to provide a more clear picture about aspects of our basin.
This review should assist eligible grantees in applying for this important program. It should inform water managers about others that have faced similar challenges, and how those challenges were overcome. It should provide information to decision makers for recognizing the value of these projects, and prioritizing them where needed. It should help the public to understand the importance of water in the Okanagan. Finally, it should speak to the excellent work that is being done through collaboration, innovation and consideration of the valley as a whole. Tremendous progress has been made on valley-wide water issues. This program has accelerated that progress over the last eight years. With the introduction of the new Water Sustainability Act, concerns about invasive species and the likely changes needed to prepare for population increases and climate change, the WCQI grant program will be an important tool for local governments.