Lake Country mayor addresses water woes ahead of B.C. election

Blair Ireland. October 11, 2024. Original article.

Watershed security has become one of the biggest concerns for residents, businesses and farmers throughout the Okanagan Valley. With the BC election fast approaching, this is a critical time to see provincial commitments and action to strengthen watershed protection in partnership with local governments and First Nations in our region.

In recent years, the Okanagan has grappled with rising water scarcity driven by climate change, consecutive years of drought, and competing demands for water from all sectors, including industry, agriculture, and our rapidly growing towns. 

Communities have experienced serious water quality issues, including toxic algae blooms, high e-coli levels which have closed local beaches, the persistent issue of invasive milfoil, and the looming threat of zebra and quagga mussels that could devastate lake health, cripple tourism and agriculture, fundamentally change a lifestyle built around the lakes, and potentially cost communities hundreds of millions of dollars.

As these challenges intensify, we must shift from reactive responses to proactive solutions, working together across our beautiful watershed. We can learn from Indigenous principles of stewardship to move down this path and we are proud to work with First Nations in the region through a partnership initiative led by the Okanagan Nation Alliance.

Collaboration will be the key to our success. However, local government and First Nations leaders cannot do this alone; provincial and federal governments must invest in and equip local communities with the tools and resources to protect and restore our watersheds.

A positive example of successful collaboration is the North Aberdeen Plateau project. The Regional District of North Okanagan, the District of Lake Country, the Okanagan Indian Band and the BC government have come together to tackle the wildfire risk to the drinking water source for 90,000 people in Lake Country and the Greater Vernon area. This multi-year, $15 million initiative will also facilitate a long-term collaborative plan to protect the shared watershed and the cultural values it supports. The plan will start with fire mitigation to safeguard these critical water sources.

While projects like Aberdeen Plateau are encouraging, they are not enough on their own. Across the province, including in the Okanagan, watersheds face many different and interconnected threats that require much more than current local capacity and efforts can address. 

As the Mayor of Lake Country, I’ve seen the profound impacts of climate change on our local watersheds. In 2023, after years of drought, two intense rainstorms turned our agricultural water system into mud, forcing a four-day irrigation shutdown in mid-summer. We were fortunate that our residential water supply remained clean, but these challenges will only grow with population growth, climate stress, and competing demands on our water. 

Invasive mussels are another looming threat. The Okanagan Basin Water Board, which I Chair, has formed an invasive mussels task force to unite stakeholders—citizens, yacht clubs, tourism operators, Chambers of Commerce and more—to protect our water infrastructure from the staggering costs we will incur if these mussels invade our lakes.

Another immediate challenge we face is the push by provincial and federal governments to build homes and grow our communities. To be clear, we want to build homes for youth and citizens of the future. But without safe clean water to supply these homes, this is simply not sustainable.

Interconnected watershed challenges like wildfire, droughts, floods, invasive mussels, and the demand for new housing can only be addressed through collaborative efforts between local, provincial, federal and First Nation governments. We need provincial investment to enable this collaboration and support the proactive solutions that put our communities in the strongest possible position. 

This is why the District of Lake Country submitted a resolution at the recent Union of BC Municipalities convention calling on the provincial government to invest $100 million annually through the BC Watershed Security Fund. These funds would support proactive, community-driven watershed solutions and avoid costly crises while safeguarding the future of British Columbians. This resolution was passed by all BC local governments, demonstrating the need and importance of investments at this scale across the province.

Water is our most vital resource. We can get by without a lot of things, but not without water. In this provincial election, it’s critical that we see strong commitments to watershed security. Our watersheds—and our future—depend on it. 

Blair Ireland is the Chair of the Regional District of Central Okanagan, Mayor of the District of Lake Country and Chair of the Okanagan Water Basin Board.