Osoyoos Lake Water Science Forum

2007, 2011 2015

Clint AlexanderOctober 8 2015

A Watershed Beyond Boundaries

Photograph by Hartmut Suhling

essa.com

Okanagan

Wenatchee

ARROW LAKES

Historically accessible

Present day viable sockeye populations

“Beyond boundaries”

‘Godzilla’ El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO): dry weather to normally wet regions (like BC) and wet weather to normally dry regions (like California).

History OLWSF

2007• ~180 participants• Growing public

concern sustainability Osoyoos Lake

• Need for basin-wide focus

• 26 actions & scientific investigations

• 77% actions Fair/Good progress

2011• ~160 participants • IJC Operating Orders

Zosel Dam• 41 recommendations

(almost half for IJC related to replacement Orders)

• IJC can’t govern flows into Osoyoos Lake

• A lot of work done, science becoming better connected

• Need more flexibility & integrated tools to balance trade-offs

Diverse & interconnected topics

OLWSF2015

Water supply mgmt.

Fisheries recovery / Environ.

flows

Water quality

Trans-boundary

cooperation

Climate change / Drought

response

• United States + Canada

• Scientists, University researchers

• Policy/ decision makers

• First Nations, Tribes

• Politicians

• Community groups

• Members of public (e.g. farmers, local residents)

• Students

Unique, diverse audience

• An inclusive, international science event that helps drive accountability

• A place to learn & bridge jurisdictions to find solutions for interconnected water challenges

Forum role / benefits

Adapted from Keeney 2004

No BrainersA

ll D

ec

isio

ns

Decisions worth applying Structured Decision Making &

Adaptive Management

Clarifying the decision problem

Clarifying cause-effect

Identifying alternative interventions

Identifying critical uncertainties

Improving monitoring

design

Build integrated decision support models

Resolving conflicts among competing objectives

Strengthening capacity and empowerment of decision-makers/ institutions

Evaluating effectiveness of interventions

Closing the learning loop (Complete AM)

Decisions with low complexity/ small consequences

Rigorous methods for uncertain decisions

*Jagger’s Law: You can’t always get what you want (inverse correlations exist amongst objectives)

… Best water releases from Okanagan Lake Dam ?

Clint Alexander, David Marmorek,

Frank Poulsen, Calvin Peters, Colin Daniel

Kim Hyatt, Margot Stockwell, Paul Rankin

Rick Klinge, Tom Khaler

Brian Symonds, Andrew Wilson, Harvey Andrusak,

Chris Bull

Howard Wright, Deana Machin,

Kari Long, Dawn Machin

Brian Guy, Lars Uunila, Brent

Phillips

Okanagan Basin Technical Working Group receiving award for “Significant Achievement in Aquatic Conservation” from the

Vancouver Aquarium for FWMT

Challenge: Variable inflows. How to plan best water releases?

Mu

ltip

le o

bje

cti

ves

Okanagan Lake

Okanagan River at Penticton

Okanagan River at OK Falls

Okanagan River at Oliver

Osoyoos Lake

Okanagan Lake

Skaha Lake

Vaseaux Lake

Osoyoos Lake

· Flood control (< 342.69m)

· Shore spawning kokanee incubation (lake draw-down from Oct-15 to Apr less than 0.2 m)

· Domestic & agricultural water intakes

· Recreational navigation

· Rocky mountain ridged mussels (>341.3m)

· Flood control (< 60 m3.sec-1)

· River recreation (> 10 m3.sec-1, Jul-Aug)

· Flood control (< 78 m3.sec-1)

· Flood control (< 96 m3.sec-1)

· Sockeye incubation (flows less than 30 m3.sec-1 Nov - Apr/May)

· Domestic & agricultural water intakes (> 6 m3.sec-1)

· Recreational navigation

· Sockeye juveniles, temperature-oxygen squeeze mitigation (September or August average inflows > 10 m3.sec-1)

Okanagan Lake Dam

Recovery

Routine deployment & use of FWMT

Sockeye harvest above Wells Dam

Other2Vast

im

pro

vem

ent

in fi

sh-

frie

nd

ly fl

ow

com

plia

nce

Kim Hyatt, D., Clint A. D. Alexander & Margot M. Stockwell. 2015. A decision support system for improving “fish friendly” flow compliance in the regulated Okanagan Lake and River System of British Columbia, Canadian Water Resources Journal, 40:1, 87-110.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07011784.2014.985510

FW

MT

+

Keys to success…Okanagan Fish/Water

Management Tool (FWMT)

Leadership & inclusive

representation(COBTWG)

Consistent participation by

(the right) disciplinary

experts

Integrate science (data

& models)

Intuitive, durable output visualizations(dashboards)

Strong regulatory driver (not

purely voluntary)

High-stakes decisions, repeated, ongoing

Ongoing, consistent

funding

Importance

Other2P

rog

ress 2

007

2011

Excellent - Good Good - Fair Fair or No Progress

1.1. Track & monitor all storage-flow projects throughout Okanagan/Similkameen/Shuswap

1.2. Coordinated input on the 2013 Osoyoos Lake Board of Control replacement Orders

1.3. Okanagan Basin Water Supply/Demand Study results widely disseminated by those authorizing water licences

1.4. Full review of surface water licences & concrete policy changes

1.5. Concrete timeline for completing universal water metering throughout Okanagan

1.6. Identify funding to complete a professional Okanagan water historiography with Web Hallauer

1.7. Develop a bi-lateral Osoyoos Lake Management Plan.

1.10. Research on total groundwater discharge into Osoyoos Lake

Unknown

1.12. Research on hydrologic impacts of Mountain Pine Beetle

2.1. Plan & implement additional water treatment between Oliver & Osoyoos

2.2. Detailed sediment core sample in Osoyoos Lake. Reconstruct chemical history

2.3. Water quality below settling lagoons around Osoyoos Lake

2.4. Township of Osoyoos stormwater management plan

3.1. Concrete programs to improve on-farm water management & reduce nutrient loadings

3.2. Increase profile of & access to agricultural water demand modelling results

4.1. Establish a comprehensively integrated ecological monitoring program

4.2. Partnerships to raise funding for land procurement in support of riparian restoration

4.3. Natural habitat refuges around Osoyoos Lake foreshore

4.4. Strengthen endangered species legislation in British Columbia and Canada

4.5. Mitigating temperature-oxygen squeeze mortality for juvenile sockeye in Osoyoos lake

4.6. Sockeye salmon rebuilding in Skaha Lake

5.1. Hold a follow-up Osoyoos Lake Water Science Forum

6.1. Continue to support regional climate change and water budget research

1.11. Improve inflow forecasting for Okanagan and Similkameen basins

1.9. Map groundwater aquifers on the East side of Osoyoos Lake

1.8. Public education campaign around water saving technologies and xeriscaping.

Other2Fis

heri

es &

Sp

ecie

s @

Ris

k

Other2G

overn

an

ce &

Lan

d U

se

Osoyoos Lake Water Science Forum

http://www.obwb.ca/workshops/osoyoos-lake-water-science-forum-2011/

http://www.obwb.ca/workshops/osoyoos-lake-water-science-forum-2011/2011-olwsf-presentations/

http://www.obwb.ca/workshops/osoyoos-lake-water-science-forum-2007/

http://www.obwb.ca/olwsf/

Further information