The City of Kimberley has successfully secured $400,000 after an almost eight-year quest to investigate the potential impacts of wildfires on its drinking water supply. This initiative was sparked by the 2018 Meachen Creek fire, which brought attention to the susceptibility of local water sources.
Mathieu Bourbonnais, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan and co-director of the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, emphasized the importance of not taking drinking water for granted. He highlighted that wildfires are altering the behavior of environmental systems that provide our water supply.
Kimberley relies on the Mark Creek and Matthew Creek watersheds for its drinking water, and a severe wildfire could adversely affect both the quality and availability of water long after the fire is extinguished. The newly funded project aims to identify these risks and develop strategies to mitigate them without compromising the water supply.
The recent Matthew Creek wildfire, which led to an evacuation alert for the entire city, raised concerns about the vulnerability of Kimberley’s watersheds. Wildland fire ecologist Bob Gray mentioned that while the fire’s impact on water movement in the watershed is limited, a more severe fire could have significant consequences.
Looking ahead, Bourbonnais’s team at UBC Okanagan is collaborating with the city and Gray to model potential fire behavior in the Mark Creek watershed. The research will analyze forest conditions, weather patterns, and climate change projections up to 2060, while also examining the effects of a severe fire on water quality and streamflows.
In addition to assessing wildfire risks, the project will explore forest management techniques like thinning, harvesting, and prescribed burning to reduce the likelihood of severe fires. Gray stressed the importance of meticulous planning to prevent adverse effects on erosion, sedimentation, and water flows.
The Columbia Basin Trust is contributing $300,000 towards the project, with the city providing the remaining $100,000. The findings are expected to inform future wildfire mitigation efforts and serve as a valuable resource for other communities facing similar challenges. Bourbonnais emphasized the proactive approach to mitigate risks, highlighting that inaction poses a greater threat than taking preventative measures.