Ongoing monitoring of the Lois Creek and Kimberley Creek watersheds north of town is one of the best ways to support watershed management decision-making, according to a new web-based report prepared for Mainstreams and Friends of Lois Creek.

Using an innovative story-map format, Ryan MacDonald, principal hydrologist with MacDonald Hydrology Consultants Ltd., said in the report that the future of the watersheds will be driven by overarching factors such as natural disturbance and changes in climate.

“The health of these watersheds will be dictated in large part by decisions made by industry, the city, recreationalists, and other interest groups,” said MacDonald, who pointed out that Lois Creek and Kimberley Creek provide excellent opportunities to develop community-based monitoring networks.

MacDonald recommends monitoring streamflow upstream of the City of Kimberley to obtain data that may prove invaluable in helping to assess flood conditions, respond to land use or natural disturbance, and promote good stewardship. Natural disturbances include wildfire, insect outbreaks, drought, landslides and avalanches, and they all can play a role in shaping the landscape.

The study found that Mountain Pine Beetle, Pine Needle Cast, and Larch Needle Blight have had some impact on the watershed. Almost four kilometres squared in the Kimberley Creek watershed is rated as extreme wildfire risk, while another three kilometres squared is rated as high risk.

The level of road development in the Kimberley Creek and Lois Creek watersheds due to past logging and mining operations far exceeds provincial benchmarks. As well, more studies are needed to understand the cumulative effect of land use and climate change.

“Snowmelt and inputs from groundwater provide the majority of streamflow in late summer, fall and winter, but there is a lack of monitoring to provide information on how streamflow is changing over time,” said MacDonald.

The watershed assessment project was coordinated by Mainstreams, a local water conservation group, on behalf of Friends of Lois Creek (FOLC) with funding from the Columbia Basin Trust Community Initiatives Project administered by the Regional District of East Kootenay. FOLC is a member group of the Kimberley Trails Society, which is working to develop an integrated trail system in and around Kimberley. FOLC and Mainstreams would like to acknowledge the substantial volunteer contributions of Ryan MacDonald.

View the complete web-based story map at:  https://arcg.is/5XCTK

Lead image: Hydrologist Ryan MacDonald and FOLC volunteer Blake Rawson discussing the Lois Creek watershed assessment on a field trip in October 2019. Photo submitted

Submitted by Mainstreams and Friends of Lois Creek

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