Kootenay Watershed Science

After many years NKLWMP has a new name! We are now officially Kootenay Watershed Science.

Our hydrometric stations are built to withstand some major events and our station at Kootenay withstood this years flood like a champ. However the stream channel changed so much that it meant that we needed to move our station to another location. Relying on our stellar advisors for advice, especially Peter Jordan, who suggested an excellent install method, Paul installed a new station yesterday. It seems like an excellent spot and we are up and running at Kootenay Joe again. Paul also replaced our Johnson's Landing climate logger as it had died sometime in the fall.

It is fundraising season here at NKLWMP. Every year we submit applications to various funders and we are currently submitting applications to the Columbia Basin Trust and the RDCK's Kootenay Lake Local Conservation Fund to keep our program going. Fingers crossed that these great organzations will fund us this year! We have also been getting out in the field a bit and will be doing some upkeep and repairs to our Kootenay Joe station this saturday.

Happy fall to all. Here is a video we made about NKLWMP for one of our wonderful funders the Kootenay Lake Local Conservation Fund. Many thanks to Nicole Triggs for her help on this! https://youtu.be/QJD6nhsbt-w

We have had another excellent year of hydrometric monitoring on our 7 creeks and gained another year of flow and temperature data with very few issues and our stations held up very well during the high spring flood flows that definitely put them to the test!

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Please take a minute to vote for the North Kootenay Lake Water Monitoring Project (NKLWMP), a project seeking to protect local watersheds through monitoring and collaboration. The RDCK Affected Areas Program and the voting process has gone online this year due to COVID-19. From the RDCK AAP/CIP Program, NKLWMP is requesting funds to support volunteer travel expenses, equipment, maintenance costs and contractor funds to keep the monitoring framework continuing for another yea...r! Please take a minute to show your support for this important project by going to the RDCK AAP online engagement site to vote for NKLWMP: http://forms.ourtrust.org/cip-rdck-online-engagement-form/ You can find our project under the Area D - AAP residing area! select our project name in the drop down menu: Kootenay Center for Forestry Alternatives - North Kootenay Lake Water Monitoring Project Thank you for your continued support in so many valuable ways! Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

Spring freshet is here! Our streams are on the rise and Paul Saso (our Hydrologist) has been out taking some salt dilution flow measurements as well as downloading data captured over the winter. Things went very well and we have collected yet another year of high quality data that builds on our understanding of Kootenay watersheds enabling decision makers to make excellent water related decisions that keep our communities safe and watered. Special thanks to all our funders and volunteers for making it happen!

The flow monitoring portion the North Kootenay Lake Water Monitoring Project (NKLWMP) monitors 7 small to medium sized creeks located around the north end of Kootenay Lake. The stations on Davis, Bjerkness, Carlyle, Ben Hur and MacDonald creeks were originally installed by the Kaslo and District Community Forest. They were then taken over by the Area D Water Monitoring Committee and then by NKLWMP in May 2016. In 2016 and 2017 NKLWMP completed the current network by instal...ling stations on Gar and Kootenay Joe creeks both located near Argenta. By monitoring these smaller watersheds, we are building an in depth understanding of the hydrology of our region that will enable us to make excellent planning decisions and help our communities thrive under the challenges presented by climate change. Our data will be used to answer essential questions about water resource management, fire suppression, infrastructure planning and community safety among many others. Please get in touch if you would like further information about our programs or have a use for watershed data that we could collaborate on!

Spring freshet is coming soon to your local watershed! The North Kootenay Lake Water Monitoring Project (NKLWMP) is preparing for another year of stream flow measurements. We are looking for individuals to support our Project Hydrologist in completing stream flow measurements throughout the coming season. Please send us a message if you are interested in fun field adventures and you want to learn more about your local watershed.

Another monthly Snow Survey completed in our study area at Lost Ledge! It was such a great experience to share this trip with a fantastic group of adventurous scientists who are all working to protect our water and climate! Thank you to our volunteers and funders who make our programs possible!