After nearly a decade of pursuing funding, Kimberley has successfully secured $400,000 to investigate the potential impact of wildfires on its drinking water supply. The initiative stemmed from the 2018 Meachen Creek fire, which underscored concerns about the susceptibility of local water sources.
Mathieu Bourbonnais, a UBC Okanagan assistant professor and co-director of the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, emphasized the importance of recognizing the reliance on the environment for drinking water amidst changing wildfire dynamics. Kimberley sources its drinking water from the Mark Creek and Matthew Creek watersheds.
The project’s objective is to assess the risks posed by severe wildfires on Kimberley’s drinking water quality and availability in the aftermath of such events. The focus is on identifying potential risks and implementing mitigation strategies without compromising the water supply integrity.
The recent Matthew Creek wildfire, which prompted an evacuation alert for the entire city, revived concerns about the vulnerability of Kimberley’s watersheds. While wildland fire ecologist Bob Gray noted that the recent fire is not projected to significantly impact water movement in the watershed, the concern lies with the potential effects of a more severe fire on the city’s drinking-water watersheds.
Bourbonnais and his team are collaborating with the city and Gray to model potential fire behavior in the Mark Creek watershed. The study will evaluate forest conditions, weather patterns, and climate change projections up to 2060 to anticipate the impact of severe fires on water quality, streamflows, and reservoir water inflow timing.
The research aims to inform future wildfire mitigation efforts by identifying suitable areas for forest thinning, harvesting, and prescribed burning to reduce wildfire risks. The challenge lies in balancing these mitigation measures with their potential hydrological impacts, emphasizing the need for careful planning to prevent adverse effects on erosion, sedimentation, and peak water flows.
The project, with a two-year timeline, is receiving $300,000 from the Columbia Basin Trust, with the city contributing the remaining $100,000. The outcomes will guide future wildfire mitigation strategies and offer valuable planning tools for other communities facing similar challenges. Bourbannais stressed the importance of proactive measures, highlighting that the risk of inaction outweighs the risk of taking a proactive stance.