Okanagan Basin Water Council report predicts Goldilocks summer: not too hot, not too cold – Vernon News

Photo: Ed Burke

The Okanagan appears to be headed for a Goldilocks summer, according to the Okanagan Basin Water Board.

In a report to the board, executive director Anna Warwick Sears says Environment Canada’s projections indicate British Columbia will experience more moderate temperatures than the rest of Canada and that British Columbia will have “Goldilocks weather: neither too hot nor too cold “.

“After a very wet June, with higher than normal flows and higher than expected lake levels, conditions are finally easing,” writes Warwick Sears.

Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s seasonal forecast for July through September leans “slightly” toward above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation.

In other water board news, high water levels and murky conditions delayed a swan lake survey to assess aquatic weed growth.

A survey late last summer observed mostly native northern broadleaved in North Okanagan Lake – although it’s difficult to differentiate without genetic testing.

The northern sedge does not cause the same damage as the Eurasian sedge and does not form dense mats on the surface of the water.

Another survey of Swan Lake is planned for mid-July.

Water board staff also recently met with Agriculture and Food Canada co-ordinators and Department of Forestry officials to discuss drought monitoring.

Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Drought Monitor and the provincial government use different drought classification schemes.

The province uses a drought rating system of 0 to 5, while local water providers use stages based on their own drought response plans, and the stage numbers vary by region.

CDM reports drought conditions using drought ratings from D0 to D4.

Several times in 2020 and 2021, potentially confusing information was almost released to the media.

“The meeting went very well and everyone agreed that future cooperation is essential. We will meet monthly during the summer to discuss drought conditions and coordinate communications,” a report to water board directors said.