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With a technical assessment and public survey (phase 1) of the Kettle River Watershed plan now complete, the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) and the Kettle River Watershed Stakeholder Advisor Group are now working on developing solutions to watershed issues (phase 2).
“The Kettle River Watershed management plan is an initiative of the Regional District of the Kootenay Boundary to develop recommendations to guide decision making about water resources, about land use planning, and about resource management that affects water in the Boundary area,” said Graham Watt, project coordinator for the Kettle River Watershed plan for the RDKB. “Essentially, we’re reaching out to involve people from from communities from across the region who have a stake in water resources, to get together and discuss water issues and come up with solutions together for the future.”
<i>Gazette<i> readers have already read Watt’s semi-regular column about the plan in previous issues, and can look forward to many more as the project moves forward.
“We’re moving into a really exciting phase right now,” he said. “Over the coming few months, we’ll be looking at some very tricky topics. Things like how do we maintain flows in the river; how do we conserve water while still providing economic opportunities; how do we protect water qualify from multiple threats; and how do we conserve habitats and species at risk as we continue to use this landscape.”
This fall, the Stakeholder Advisory Group is releasing a number of discussion papers about governance, water flow conservation, water quality and ecosystems. There will also be a series of meetings in the fall to begin developing solutions based on the discussion papers.
“We want to bring people together to grapple with the challenging topics we have there,” said Watt.
A strong proponent for the watershed plan is Grace McGregor, RDKB Area C director and RDKB vice-chair. McGregor is the chair of the Kettle River Stakeholder Advisory Group.
“Coming down the road, as Graham said, is some really interesting, fun stuff we’re doing with the public,” she said. “It’s important for the public to get involved with this whole process. It’s all well and good to look at a draft of something and say after it’s become a hard copy, ‘We should’ve said something.’ So we’re inviting everyone to have a say in this process as it moves along. We’re hoping whatever your interest is with the Kettle River, and the supply of water coming down the road however many years from now, that you will get involved with what it will takes to ensure we have water when we turn on the tap. That could involve agriculture, drinking water, golf courses and all of that.”
McGregor said it’s important for people to realize that all water is connected whether your using ground water, river systems, or aquifers.
“Whether you have a water licence or you’re pulling from the aquifer instead of the river, they’re all correlated,” she said. “They’re all part of the water system and we invite everyone to come out and dialogue with us.”
The next public meeting for the Kettle River Watershed Management Plan is Oct. 3 in Greenwood at the community hall (McArthur Centre) at 6:30 p.m.
Full discussion papers are available from kettleriver.ca after they have been released.