Transcript Kaslo water provision impact charts mar 19 cp

Kaslo & Area D Climate Change Impacts on Water Provision
– INITIAL DRAFT
March 19, 2010
Remember Mohs Law of Increased Rate of Chemical Reaction:
Each degree of temperature increase prompts a 10 fold increase in the rate of chemical reactions
Ground water
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Status/shortages unknown
Ask well drillers
As surface water supplies decline and there are more conflicts amongst users, some may turn to wells which will
increase groundwater use with possible impacts
Do changes in lake levels impact on shallow wells beside lakes?
Kaslo & Area D Climate Change Impacts on Water Provision
WINTER (Dec. – Feb.)
IMPACTS
ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE
CLIMATE
Warmer
water
temps
Warmer
air temp.
More bugs etc.
survive
Water quality failures
Water
conservation
Lower creek flows
More rain
esp. at lower
elevations
Less water available
Lower
snowpack
1/3 less
demand in
winter in
Kaslo
Lower soil moisture
Rain on snow
Or frozen
ground
?? Increasing
# residents??
No flooding
risks??
Can’t capture
high flows
Flashy
creek flows
Intense rain
events
Increased
run-off
Pump from
the lake?
?? Competition
With Hydro use?
Increased
land/mud/debris
flows
Erosion
Increased
turbidity
More difficult &
costly to treat
Increase
storage
capacity
Kaslo & Area D Climate Change Impacts on Water Provision
SPRING (March - May)
IMPACTS
ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE
CLIMATE
Warmer
air temp.
Increase
storage
capacity
Can’t capture
high flows
Earlier spring peak flow
Higher peak flow
Changing precip\
patterns with
more rain
Lower
snowpack
Lower soil
moisture
Earlier
fire season
Uneven water
availability
Uneven soil
moisture
More
extreme
events
Increased
run-off
Kemp
Creek fire
Meadow Cr. Supply
dries up
Can’t capture
high flows
Flashy
creek flows
Increased
land/mud/debris
flows
Potential water demand
to fight interface fire
Erosion
Increased
turbidity
More difficult &
costly to treat
Increase
storage
capacity
Water
Conservation
earlier
Increase
storage
capacity
Kaslo & Area D Climate Change Impacts on Water Provision
SUMMER (June – Aug.)
CLIMATE
Warmer
air temp.
Warmer
water temps.
More bugs etc.
survive
Increased
evapotranspiration
Drier soils
and plants
Less rain
IMPACTS
ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE
Higher
Wildfire hazard
Low summer flows
start earlier
Potential
watershed damage
Summer flows
become very low
Small streams &
Wetlands dry up
Lower lake levels
More
extreme
events
- windstorms
Tree windthrow
Near water system
Erosion
in riparian
areas
Increased
turbidity
Increase
d
demand
- more
people
More water quality failures - garden
irrigation
Higher risk of
water borne disease
Potential water demand
to fight interface fire
Increase
storage
capacity
Demand exceeds capacity
-Kaslo in Aug.
- shallow wells run dry in Aug.
- rural folks hauling water in Aug.
- user conflicts possible
Columbia
River
Treaty
Lake systems fail
may
reduce
lake level
Power loss
Back-up
to plant/pumps
power
More difficult &
costly to treat
Kaslo & Area D Climate Change Impacts on Water Provision
FALL (Sept. – Nov.)
CLIMATE
Warmer
air temp.
ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE
Longer fall season
Longer
fire season
Increased
rainfall
variability
Swamps/wetlands
dry up
Longer period of
low streamflow
Streams dry up
Extreme
events
Not
completed
IMPACTS
Potential water demand
to fight interface fire
Water shortages
-Kaslo demand exceeds
Increase
capacity till Oct.
storage
Meadow Cr. Supply
capacity
dries up in Nov.
Rural supplies dry up
In Sept.
Haul water
(how many now?)
Reduced
demand as
less
irrigation