Have Your Say: Water Engagement Initiative

On September 27th, at UNBC in Prince George, Drs Stephen Dery, Phil Owens, Ellen Peticrew and Margot Parkes presented a talk on the topic of Integrated Watershed research in the Nechako.

If you were unable to attend the presentation or would like to listen again, the presentation is now available online through UNBC. Click here to watch the presentation.

Below is an abstract explaining their research:

The Nechako Watershed encompasses nearly 50,000 square kilometers from the Coast Mountains to the Interior Plateau of British Columbia, forming the second largest sub-watershed of the Fraser River Basin. The Nechako (a derivation of a Dakelh word meaning “big river”) remains a vital waterway for anadromous fish including three species of salmon and non-anadromous fish such as bull trout, rainbow trout, and the endangered Nechako white sturgeon. Despite its ecological, societal and cultural importance, the nature of this complex system remains elusive. Cumulative stressors including climate change, landcover disturbances (e.g. wildfires, the mountain pine beetle outbreak and forest harvesting), land use changes (e.g. the expansion of the Vanderhoof agricultural belt), and damming of the Nechako River main stem have led to drastic changes to the water and landscapes of the Nechako. Over the past five years, a team of four UNBC researchers with complementary expertise has thus undertaken a study to integrate knowledge on climate change and water security, sediment sources and fluxes, and the health and well-being of the Nechako. This colloquium delivered by the four members of the Integrated Watershed Research Group will report on their findings through the first years of research in the Nechako and lessons learned in this collaborative effort involving many stakeholders across the Nechako

The WEI participants met in Vanderhoof on Oct 8th for their fifth meeting. Key documents from the meeting include:

• WEI Meeting #5 Slideshow Presentation
• WEI Structured Decision Making Process
• Hydrographs 101
• Rio Tinto Water Management - Hydrograph & Objective
• WEI Meeting #5 - Summary

The fourth WEI main table meeting took place September 11, at CNC in Burns Lake. The meeting summary, presentation and press release are available below, just click on the link!

WEI Meeting #4 - Meeting Summary

WEI Meeting #4 - Presentation

WEI Meeting #4 - List of Information Needs

Thank you! Rio Tinto extends its sincere appreciation to the Big Bar Unified Command team and everyone involved. Congratulations! Your efforts will benefit British Columbians for generations to come.

Read an update on the Big Bar event and the impact of the STMP change here.

The third WEI main table meeting took place August 22nd, at Scott's Grille in Vanderhoof. The meeting summary, presentation and press release are available below, just click on the link!

WEI Meeting 3 - Summary (in progress)

WEI Meeting 3 - Slideshow Presentation

WEI Meeting 3 - Press Release

WEI Meeting 3 - Flow Requirements Presentation

The second WEI main table meeting took place July 16th, at Scott's Grille in Vanderhoof. The meeting summary, guiding principles, presentation and press release are available below, just click on the link!

WEI Meeting 2 - Summary

WEI Process Guiding Principles

WEI Meeting 2 - Slideshow Presentation

WEI Meeting 2 - Press Release

The initial main table meeting of the Water Engagement Initiative was held June 13th, in Vanderhoof at Scott's Grille. Unable to attend and interested in what happened? The presentation given by Rahul Ray (facilitator) can be downloaded here. The meeting notes can be downloaded here.

The Nechako Watershed Council published reports in 2008 and 2009 describing their findings. Click here for the 2008 report, and here for the 2009 report. The Nechako Watershed Council also published a report exploring potential flow regimes in the Nechako Watershed, click here to download. The reports are also found in the document library found on this website.

If you weren't able to attend our WEI info sessions on March 12 or 14, we've uploaded summaries of the discussions.

March 12 - Wistaria Info Session Summary

March 14 - Vanderhoof Morning Info Session Summary

March 14 - Vanderhoof Evening Info Session Summary

Click here to see the information session presentation given by Rahul and the Water Engagement Iniative team!