Groundwater Discharge to Okanagan Lake

2006

$56,350

$10,000

Students with the University of British Columbia Okanagan collected almost two years’ worth of data to determine ground water discharge to Okanagan Lake. Three physical methods of measurement were used in the shoreline study area between Knox Mountain and Bertram Creek Park: seepage meters, piezometers, and thermal measurements. Seepage meters proved to be the most reliable method for measuring groundwater discharge successfully. Preliminary calculations indicate groundwater discharge to be an estimated 2x10⁶ m ³/yr which is much lower than prior estimates indicated. This difference highlights the contribution this project has made in assisting water resource planning for the Kelowna area. The data may also be used to help calibrate groundwater and groundwater/surface water models in the Kelowna area which could then be extended to other areas of the Okanagan Basin. Work on this project is ongoing with field data collection extended to the fall of 2013 and final research results expected in spring 2014.

• Physical measurements of groundwater contributions to a large lake