Water Supply & Demand

Okanagan communities share water with one another and with the natural environment. Since the beginning of European settlement there have been struggles with adapting water use in the Okanagan to the available supply – leading to an elaborately managed system of dams, pipes and pumps. It continues to be a challenge to say how much water can be accessed for human use.

Each year, the available supply is determined by rain and snowfall, and the storage capacity of reservoirs and aquifers. The Okanagan Basin experiences significant variations in the quantity of precipitation it receives and it also experiences high rates of evaporation and evapotranspiration. Water shortages and flooding have occurred in the Basin and are expected to occur more frequently in the future.

In addition to the variability of water annual net inflow, the annual pattern of water flow in the Basin is important to consider in water management planning. The majority of precipitation occurs and accumulates during the winter months as snowfall, resulting in a dominant spring freshet. The rates of flow are much lower in summer and early fall, when demand is highest.

There have long been concerns that our water supply is over-allocated; licenses have been given for more water than is actually available. Climate change and population growth have raised concerns that our demand is increasing as our supply diminishes. All sectors of the community will need to increase efficient water use, reduce water waste, and use alternative sources wherever possible to ensure we are living within our water means now and in the future. Augmenting upper reservoir storage is also an important priority in the Basin to ensure resilience to variation in precipitation and increased demand.