MONITORING WATER RESOURCES IN BC TO HELP UNDERSTAND THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
The entire planet is impacted by climate change, whether it’s believed to be a natural cycle or human-induced. Lakes, rivers, streams, oceans, and the entire water cycle are affected. From heavier rainfalls to less snow in some areas and extreme
droughts in others.
In this article, we showcase two different monitoring programs in British Columbia, Canada, that share the goal of further understanding how climate change affects the water resources they rely on and are passionate about.
We highlight how environmental data, specifi cally water level and temperature data, are being used to track changes in rivers, streams, and lakes to help predict and prepare for the changes brought on by a warming atmosphere.
Community Based Water Monitoring
Detailed water monitoring and planning are required to ensure that communities relying on surface water resources are protected from future climate change impacts.
Signifi cant weather and hydrologic events in the north Kootenay Lake area of British Columbia, Canada spurred citizens in the region to start taking an active role in preparing for a changing climate.
This community concern led to the establishment of Kootenay Watershed Science (KWS) – a community-driven project that has taken the lead in understanding how climate change will impact the small and medium-sized watersheds in their region.
The monitoring activities now championed by KWS began as an initiative of the Kaslo and District Community Forest Society in 2007. The program has since changed hands a few times and in early 2020 KWS found its new home as part of the Living Lakes Canada portfolio of projects.
Living Lakes Canada is a national non-profi t organization based in the Canadian Columbia Basin that is working towards the long-term protection of Canada’s fresh water with the mission
to normalize water stewardship through community-based water monitoring.
Much of their work has become a grassroots template for aquatic ecosystem monitoring across BC and Canada, and they are affi liated with Living Lakes International, a global network of over 120 non- governmental organizations and stewardship practitioners who share best practices in efforts to protect lakes, rivers, wetlands, and watersheds world-wide.
The KWS project focuses on collecting and sharing important data on which to base future decisions in land use and development, conservation, emergency preparedness, water supply allocation, and more. To date, the program has established two high-elevation snow course sites, three climate stations, and seven hydrometric stations. Data is collected on snowpack, precipitation, temperature, water quantity, and more.
Solinst Leveloggers are Installed in PVC or Steel Pipe in Streams to Record Water Levels
Science, says the original decision to go with Solinst Leveloggers was based on reputation, good accuracy, reasonable price, and reliability. “They have a great reputation and have defi nitely lived up to it” Paul noted.
KWS datasets now include fi ve continuous streamfl ow records of around ten years and two more of four and fi ve-year durations. Dedicated volunteers, citizen scientists, and professional hydrologists perform the data collection, sampling, and monitoring.
In 2012, Solinst Leveloggers were installed in fi ve KWS hydrometric stations and two more were added at stations in 2017.
A Levelogger is an instrument that automatically and continuously records accurate fl uctuations in water level, temperature, and optionally, conductivity.
The Leveloggers are deployed in streams in either a perforated PVC or steel pipe, combined with a staff gauge. Barologgers are installed nearby to record atmospheric pressure (used to barometrically compensate Levelogger data) as well as air temperature.
KWS has also recently installed Leveloggers in two alpine lakes to help assess the health and function of these systems, and to determine how they may play a role in moderating the fl ow in the smaller waterways in the region.
The Leveloggers are set to log water level and temperature every 15 minutes, providing a detailed record of water level fl uctuations. The frequency allows them to download the data just twice a year.
Map of Watershed Monitoring Station Locations in Kootenay British Columbia IET NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022 Paul Saso, Hydrologist with Kootenay Watershed
Solinst recently donated Leveloggers and Barologgers to replace the dataloggers that have been recording for almost 10 years.
The Levelogger water level data (stage data) is used to calculate discharge in the streams. Water level data is converted to discharge (streamfl ow) by determining the relationship between stage and discharge, using streamfl ow measured at several different stages through time to create the Stage Discharge rating curve.
The air temperature data from the Barologgers are stored. They may be able to provide information towards future modelling work for low-elevation areas around the hydrometric stations.
The data collected by KWS is made available on the Columbia Basin Water Hub, which provides quality-controlled water-related data via an open-source database developed and formally launched in 2021 by Living Lakes Canada. The Columbia Basin Water Hub can be accessed here:
https://data.cbwaterhub.ca/
KWS also has a partnership with Aquatic Informatics for processing, storing, and distributing data online. Data can be accessed and viewed on their Web portal: https://mission.
aquaticinformatics.net/AQWebPortal/
The data collected will ultimately help evaluate how the watersheds in the region will respond to different hydrological fl ows– especially in times of high precipitation and low water supply. The data will help predict the risk, frequency and outcome of more catastrophic events brought on by climate change, such as fl ooding and landslides.
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