The Okanagan Water DemandWater useVolume or rate of water diverted or withdrawn from a water body (eg a stream, lake, or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers aquiferAn underground formation that stores groundwater) for use by humans on the land surface. Actual water use is determined through direct measurement. Water demand is an estimate of actual water use. determined using an estimation approach, such as a model Model was originally built to estimate current and future agriculture water demands for 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., but was expanded to include golf courses and residential water demands.
The model calculates water useVolume or rate of water diverted or withdrawn from a water body (eg a stream, lake, or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers aquiferAn underground formation that stores groundwater) for use by humans on the land surface. Actual water use is determined through direct measurement. Water demand is an estimate of actual water use. on a property by property basis and sums each property to obtain a total for the entire basinLand area from which water drains towards a common point or sub basins.

Domestic Water Use
Crop, irrigation system type, soils and climate data are used to calculate water demands.
The Demand Model is able to calculate (for historic and future conditions) all indoor and outdoor water uses for different time periods and water useVolume or rate of water diverted or withdrawn from a water body (eg a stream, lake, or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers aquiferAn underground formation that stores groundwater) for use by humans on the land surface. Actual water use is determined through direct measurement. Water demand is an estimate of actual water use. areas.
The model links each water useVolume or rate of water diverted or withdrawn from a water body (eg a stream, lake, or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers aquiferAn underground formation that stores groundwater) for use by humans on the land surface. Actual water use is determined through direct measurement. Water demand is an estimate of actual water use. areaAn area of the land surface which obtains water from a common location or locations with one or more sources of surface or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers.
The original Agriculture Water DemandWater useVolume or rate of water diverted or withdrawn from a water body (eg a stream, lake, or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers aquiferAn underground formation that stores groundwater) for use by humans on the land surface. Actual water use is determined through direct measurement. Water demand is an estimate of actual water use. determined using an estimation approach, such as a model model was a finalist for the Premier’s Innovation Award (click to see YouTube video).
Project Downloads:
- Summary Report – Part Three – Models (468Kb PDF)
- Appendix I1: Okanagan Water DemandWater useVolume or rate of water diverted or withdrawn from a water body (eg a stream, lake, or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers aquiferAn underground formation that stores groundwater) for use by humans on the land surface. Actual water use is determined through direct measurement. Water demand is an estimate of actual water use. determined using an estimation approach, such as a model Model Summary Report (1.5Mb PDF)
- Appendix I2: Irrigation Water DemandWater useVolume or rate of water diverted or withdrawn from a water body (eg a stream, lake, or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers aquiferAn underground formation that stores groundwater) for use by humans on the land surface. Actual water use is determined through direct measurement. Water demand is an estimate of actual water use. determined using an estimation approach, such as a model Model – Technical Description (1.1Mb PDF)
- Appendix I3: Residential, Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Water UseVolume or rate of water diverted or withdrawn from a water body (eg a stream, lake, or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers aquiferAn underground formation that stores groundwater) for use by humans on the land surface. Actual water use is determined through direct measurement. Water demand is an estimate of actual water use. Report (166Kb PDF)
- Agriculture Water DemandWater useVolume or rate of water diverted or withdrawn from a water body (eg a stream, lake, or groundwaterWater existing below the ground surface in aquifers aquiferAn underground formation that stores groundwater) for use by humans on the land surface. Actual water use is determined through direct measurement. Water demand is an estimate of actual water use. determined using an estimation approach, such as a model Model report (8.7Mb PDF)