After nearly eight years of searching for funding, the City of Kimberley has finally secured $400,000 to conduct a study on the potential impact of wildfires on its drinking water supply. The initiative traces back to the 2018 Meachen Creek fire, which highlighted concerns about 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 pointed out that while people often assume access to clean water is guaranteed, the reality is that environmental factors, such as wildfires, can significantly alter water systems.
Kimberley’s drinking water is sourced from the Mark Creek and Matthew Creek watersheds. A severe wildfire could impact both the quality and availability of drinking water in Kimberley long after the fire has been extinguished. The project’s objective is to identify these risks and develop strategies to mitigate them without compromising the water supply.
The recent Matthew Creek wildfire, which prompted an evacuation alert for Kimberley, highlighted the immediate risks facing the city’s watersheds. However, wildland fire ecologist Bob Gray noted that the fire’s impact on water movement through the watershed is expected to be minimal, with severe burning occurring in limited areas higher up the slopes.
Looking ahead, Bourbonnais’s research team at UBC Okanagan, in collaboration with the city and Gray, is working on modeling potential fire behavior in the Mark Creek watershed. The study will encompass forest conditions, weather patterns, and climate change projections up to 2060, while also examining the potential effects of a severe fire on water quality and streamflows.
Furthermore, the research aims to determine where forest management practices, such as thinning and prescribed burning, could reduce wildfire risks. It is crucial to carefully plan these mitigation measures to avoid adverse impacts on erosion, sedimentation, and peak water flows.
The project, funded by the Columbia Basin Trust and the city of Kimberley, is expected to span two years. The findings will not only inform future wildfire mitigation efforts in Kimberley but also serve as a valuable resource for other communities facing similar challenges. Bourbonnais stressed the importance of proactive measures, stating that the risk of inaction outweighs the benefits of being prepared.