Excellent decisions require excellent information. It’s important to understand our watersheds, their contribution to human health and the environment, and the best ways to protect these resources. Thanks to changes in information systems and the Internet, it’s now possible to provide people with great information in a usable format.
Many provincial government information systems need to be updated for the needs of the 21st century, made more accessible for communities, and B.C.’s ability to monitor, predict and adapt to climate change needs to improve. The low density of water monitoring stations and groundwater observation wells across the province contributes to gaps in water information. Monitoring and reporting helps us to identify areas to focus on, where we are achieving our goals, and where we get maximum benefits from all our activities.
What is the B.C. government doing?
Implementing a water science strategy for B.C.
The provincial government is developing a Water Science Strategy for B.C., which will help guide knowledge and information needs for regions in B.C. and help respond to future water changes. This framework will include actions to guide the development of region specific water science strategies that can be implemented through the participation of many people and organizations. A science strategy would help identify water science opportunities and challenges, and ways to report and communicate science information to inform water decisions in a given region. This will also allow for better alignment of resources and efforts on projects and activities.
Expanding B.C.’s hydrometric and other climate-related networks.
Climate-related information is crucial to protect public safety, secure economic development, manage the environment sustainably, and adapt to climate change. Information from the water quantity monitoring (hydrometric) network is highly valued by a variety of users for flood warning, water supply, resource management, and other purposes. Communities will benefit from having access to improved climate-related information to help guide response to potential climate change-related effects. This includes water supply conditions which are being altered by climate change through increased frequency and magnitude of extreme conditions such as droughts, floods, and earlier spring melts.
The B.C. government committed $10 Million between 2007 and 2010 to improve and expand our hydrometric and climate-related networks. In August 2013, a renewed Canada-BC Agreement on Hydrometric monitoring was signed by the BC Minister of Environment and Environment Canada.
Media release: http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2013/09/canada-and-bc-renew-water-monitoring-agreement.html
Reporting on the state of our water
Environmental Reporting BC provides access to scientific data and information about our environment and how it relates to British Columbians. This information comes in the form of indicators that examine the state and trends of different aspects of our environment.
What can you do?
Learn more about stream flow and snow monitoring, water quality, groundwater, climate change and river forecasting in B.C. by looking at the links in Data Searches and Information
You can make your own map of water-related information by going to the Water Resources Atlas.
Climate-related information includes the air monitoring network, the hydrometric network, the fire-weather network, the avalanche network and the snow-pillow network.
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