Abstracts
Watershed Management Adapting to Climate Change
Derek Bonin1, D. Dunkley
1Greater Vancouver Regional District
dbonin@gvrd.bc.ca
The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) provides drinking water for two million people in the Greater Vancouver area from three integrated sources - the Capilano, Seymour, and Coquitlam watersheds. The climate of these watersheds is influenced by the steep slopes of the Coast Mountains and the prevailing westerly winds from the Pacific Ocean. These deep, rugged valleys are characterized by glacial landforms and dense, coniferous forests. Climate change models have proposed that future climate scenarios may consist of longer drier summers and warmer wetter winters. This type of climate change for the region creates uncertainties associated with water quality and water supply from these watersheds.
As a result, GVRD is investigating issues that potentially influence the future reliability of these sources of drinking water. This presentation provides an overview of the issues and investigations that are underway in the watersheds. The issues include those related to ecological change, risk of wildfire, erosion, reservoir limnology, water storage and the potential impacts on the water transmission system. The investigations include monitoring of indicators, developing risk management tools, reservoir pool level thresholds for water quality and water storage contingency.
Keywords: GVRD, watershed management, water quality, water supply
2005-04-05 |
 |