Okanagan Water Supply and Demand Project: Phase 2 Summary Report

Executive Summary: Overview

The Canadian Okanagan Basin (the Basin), in the southern interior of British Columbia, is the subject of the Okanagan Water Supply and Demand Project. Because of relatively high rates of water use, variable water supply, and the understanding that population growth and climate change could impact water supply and demand and the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems, in 2004 the Province initiated a project to investigate the supply of and demand for water in the Basin. The first Phase of the Project identified the information that could be used, and prepared a plan to complete the investigation. Phase 2 of the Project was initiated in 2007 by the Okanagan Basin Water Board in partnership with the Province; and was completed in collaboration with a large number of federal and provincial agencies and the Okanagan Nation Alliance. This report is a summary of Phase 2 of the Project.