Project Partners

The Okanagan BasinLand area from which water drains towards a common pointThe Okanagan watershedLand area from which water drains towards a common point, or basinLand area from which water drains towards a common point, is a narrow strip that spans from Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada to the US border and includes five main lakes – Okanagan, Kalamalka-Wood, Skaha, Vaseux and Osoyoos – and surrounding mountains. The Okanagan BasinLand area from which water drains towards a common point includes all the land that feeds water to our big lakes, and is almost 200 km in length and 8,000 km2 in area. Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton and Osoyoos all lie within the Okanagan BasinLand area from which water drains towards a common point. Water Board, in partnership with the BC Ministry of Environment and with significant contributions from the BC Ministry of Agriculture, the BC Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, Environment Canada, Agriculture Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Okanagan Nation Alliance, is working to establish better systems to track natural water flows, establish water-use patterns, and estimate how these will change in the future.

The Okanagan Water Supply & Demand Project is a partnership of the Okanagan BasinLand area from which water drains towards a common pointThe Okanagan watershedLand area from which water drains towards a common point, or basinLand area from which water drains towards a common point, is a narrow strip that spans from Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada to the US border and includes five main lakes – Okanagan, Kalamalka-Wood, Skaha, Vaseux and Osoyoos – and surrounding mountains. The Okanagan BasinLand area from which water drains towards a common point includes all the land that feeds water to our big lakes, and is almost 200 km in length and 8,000 km2 in area. Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton and Osoyoos all lie within the Okanagan BasinLand area from which water drains towards a common point. Water Board and the BC Ministry of Environment. Other partners include: the BC Ministries of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, and Agriculture; the federal Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and Agri-Food, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Okanagan Nation Alliance; UBC-O; SFU; the BC Agriculture Council; and the Water Supply Association of BC.

Project Funding:
The Project was funded by grants from the BC Ministry of Environment, the Canada-BC Water Supply Expansion Program (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), the Gas Tax Fund, and Natural Resources Canada. The OBWBOkanagan Basin Water Board acted as financial administrator for the project and provided local matching funds. Local water suppliers contributed by providing data. The total project cost was close to $2,300,000 and received an additional $900,000 of in-kind support from partner agencies.

A Note on the Lead Funder for Phase 3:
NRCan’s Regional Adaptation Collaboratives (RAC) Program is a national program. BC’s RAC is administered by the Fraser BasinLand area from which water drains towards a common point Council on behalf of NRCan and the Province. There are approximately 19 separate projects that together form the BC RAC, with a total budget of more than $3.3 M over 3 years. The Okanagan Water Supply & Demand Project has been awarded a total of $499,300 through this program – the first $298,000 was announced in January 2010, and recently the project received an additional $201,300.

In the next two fiscal years, RAC funds will be used for Phase 3 projects such as public communication and consultation, making data accessible to municipal planners, further developing future scenarios based on the needs of local governments, stakeholders and senior government partners. The final year will culminate with a report targeted to local governments and the Province identifying potential policy changes and other actions to reduce water shortages and protect ecosystems. Additional funding is being sought for the remaining Phase 3 projects.

Read More:

• Summary Report
• Okanagan Water Supply and Demand Project: Water Science for the Long-term Case Study