The Lake Windermere Ambassadors hosted an event designed to tap into local knowledge and build greater awareness of watershed issues. Dr. Anna Warwick Sears, Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board, was the keynote speaker and spoke with an audience of about 30 people during the December 10 event.

Dr. Sears (pictured above) advised residents in the Upper Columbia watershed to anticipate future water challenges before they become serious problems. Conversing with each other about water is the first step in this process.

“Having a good future means acting today,” said Dr. Sears. “When is the best time to plant a tree? Thirty years ago; the second best time is today.”

“Right now we have the problem of the Incredible Shrinking Government,” cautioned    Dr. Sears. “With all the cuts to the budget and reorganization of ministries and responsibilities, we lost the people who used to monitor water quality and quantity.”

She told the audience not to expect the provincial government to step up to sort out water issues in this region.

She quipped, “now they’re encouraging ‘innovation’ – which means ‘do something with nothing’ and ‘collaboration’ – which means ‘we’ll help you do it if you want to do it yourself.’”

Her advice for the residents of the Upper Columbia is to first identify shared values and concerns, then plan together for the future. “You’ll either have to pay a little now or a lot later.  It will be cheaper to address things now than to wait until things are really a problem and really expensive.”

She also suggested that people not expect the valley to stay in its present state, but rather to expect that it will be influenced by things like climate change and population growth. “We live in one of the best parts of the world. People will want to move here because they live in places that are getting less and less nice.”

During an open discussion, participants expressed an appreciation of water-based recreation in this region and that fact that tourists come to the area because of the lake.  Their concerns related to uncertainty about future water quality, water quantity, lake levels, and how water management will affect the wetlands and the wildlife that depend on them. Participants also expressed a love of fishing, and a concern about the loss of native fish and the introduction of invasive species.

The Lake Windermere Ambassadors, hosts of the event, plan on hosting more community conversations about water in the coming year.

Chair Paul Christy said: “This is the first of several open conversations we would like to host to discuss our lake and watershed, how we interact with them, what’s being done to protect them — and what can be done.”

About the Lake Windermere Ambassadors

The Lake Windermere Ambassadors are a Society representing a cross-section of community stakeholders, including local businesses, governments, seasonal and year-round homeowners, youth and non-government organizations, who share the vision of a healthy Lake Windermere with balanced management that supports recreational and traditional uses, fish and wildlife values, and economic prosperity in the region. Funding for the community water conversation event has been provided by the Columbia Basin Trust and the Real Estate Foundation of BC.

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