From Our Executive Director

It has been a whirlwind year of extraordinary growth for Living Lakes Canada. We have expanded existing programs and created new ones. And while this report provides brief highlights of 2022, it does not fully demonstrate the nature of the relationships we were able to foster that are foundational to our water stewardship work.

Applied Reconciliation was and will continue to be the most important lens for our water stewardship work. One of the greatest learnings for us this year was with Brian Holmes and the Upper Nicola Band, working together to build a lake survey framework that finally embodies Indigenous guiding principles alongside a colonial monitoring protocol. These principles will allow for an applied shift in worldviews that will improve the possibilities of healing relationships with our lakes, with Mother Earth, and with each other.

In the Canadian Columbia Basin, climate change is impacting mountain ecosystems. We are also past peak flow from glacial runoff in this region. We successfully implemented the Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework in three pilot areas to begin collecting the data needed to track and model climate impacts on the region’s hydrological cycle and eventually support future community water budgeting information.

To learn more about climate impacts, we also developed and tested a new High Elevation Monitoring Program in two different mountain ranges in the West Kootenays. The Kootenay Watershed Science program successfully completed another year of streamflow data collection, marking over 10 years of long-term data monitoring. Our Columbia Basin Groundwater Monitoring Program expansion included seven new monitoring wells, bringing the 2022 year-end total to 29 active wells.

The biomonitoring programs continued to help pilot innovative technologies for assessing freshwater health. We applied the Foreshore Integrated Management Planning protocol to three more priority lakes in the Columbia Basin to assess lake foreshore health and help inform lake management policies. Across the country, our National Lake Blitz program grew exponentially while raising awareness of the importance of water monitoring to better understand climate impacts on lake ecosystems.

The Columbia Basin Water Hub data repository expanded to over 250 publically available data sets in 2022, including data from all of Living Lakes Canada’s programs, and saw an increase in traffic averaging 400 users per month. We further developed our youth-focused programming across all our program areas; and continued to advocate for improved policy and legislation around freshwater protection as an active member of the B.C. and federal water advocacy coalitions.

In reporting on the achievements of Living Lakes Canada, we continue to acknowledge that this work is only possible because of our funders, our partners, and our dedicated team of board directors, advisors, staff, and contractors.

In closing, while our 2022 Impact Report summarizes last year’s activities, it also foreshadows the extent of the work yet to come. People are rightly concerned about their respective watersheds and source water, and wish to help build adaptation options for their communities and the ecosystems that support them. Moving forward, Living Lakes Canada will continue to build synergistic relationships based on mutual trust and respect to increase our collective resilience.

Kat Hartwig, Executive Director

Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework

Studies show that glaciers in the Canadian Columbia Basin are disappearing at an accelerating rate. Research also suggests that the runoff supplied by glacial melt to summer streamflow has already passed peak volume. With climate change, precipitation in the region is expected to increasingly fall as rain rather than snow. This has alarming implications for a region where, historically, glaciers and snow have provided a stable and reliable source of freshwater year-round.

To support the tracking of climate impacts on water across the Canadian Columbia Basin, Living Lakes Canada developed the Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework (CBWMF) to implement a coordinated water monitoring network. The data collected through this project will help communities and decision makers understand how their local watershed is responding to climate change and other stressors, and support climate adaptation strategies. 

In 2021, Living Lakes Canada piloted the CBWMF methodology in three areas of interest: the Columbia Kootenay Headwaters, the Mid Columbia-Kootenay and the Elk River Valley. Our team conducted multi-sector Indigenous and non-Indigenous community engagement to understand the local concerns and priorities around water. Online survey and map tools were developed to support this process. Combined with a data gap analysis of existing monitoring, resulting community feedback informed the selection of new monitoring sites in each pilot area. Locations were identified for an additional 23 hydrometric stations, nine lake level stations and three climate stations. The majority of stations were installed in 2022 with the remainder set for installation in 2023.

To help increase monitoring capacity in the region, Living Lakes Canada hosted three hydrometric monitoring workshops in Fall of 2022 as part of the BC Ministry of Environment’s Hydrometric Training Program. Twenty-four attendees from community stewardship groups and First Nations learned how to collect hydrometric (streamflow) data.

We presented the CBWMF as a paradigm-shifting approach to watershed security at several events, including the Canadian Water Resources Association conference, Wildsight’s Fire & Ice Festival, and the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology Researchers Forum. A full-length report detailing the CBWMF pilot implementation was published in December.

“My interest is in the smaller tributaries to all these systems that can support fish. Climate change impacts on these smaller systems is my priority interest, as well as watershed changes caused by human activity, predominantly forest road development (access, culverts, siltation) and harvest impacts.”

Local Reference Group participant in the Mid-Columbia Kootenay Pilot Area

Biomonitoring: STREAM / CABIN

As land use pressures increase across Canada, the need for biomonitoring is on the rise to better understand the health of rivers and streams. In 2022, Living Lakes Canada continued to train and certify individuals and organizations in biomonitoring using the CABIN protocol adapted for the STREAM project (Sequencing The Rivers for Environmental Assessment and Monitoring). Throughout the year, our Biomonitoring team trained 32 people in multi-day CABIN-STREAM courses and facilitated the collection of 250 water samples by community-based water monitors. We expanded the STREAM project into Atlantic Canada, delivering our first biomonitoring training course in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Another project highlight was hosting the first virtual Data Workshop in partnership with the University of Guelph and Environment and Climate Change Canada to help STREAM participants better understand the data they had collected.

Indigenous concerns around threats to fish habitat prompted the S’ólh Téméxw Stewardship Alliance (STSA) and the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance to engage in STREAM training with Living Lakes Canada so their staff could learn to assess aquatic health for healthy salmon habitat. Our biomonitoring team also helped train 30 Selkirk College students in environmental DNA and wetland assessment.

A video detailing our biomonitoring activities was selected by ECO Canada as one of six finalists for their 2023 ECO Community Impact award, and the STREAM/CABIN program extended its impact from the field to a number of conferences and workshops including the B.C. Assembly of First Nations Water Dialogue Series, Genome Canada GAPP Lunch and Learn, and the Skeena Confluence of Minds Workshop. 

“Stó:lō is looking for impacts on fish habitat, a concern for many STSA members. STREAM and the STREAM training provided by Living Lakes gives us an understanding of the quality of habitat to assess stressors on fish in some areas.”

Dr. Julian Yates, Research and Special Projects Manager for the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre

 

National Lake Blitz

By recruiting and training volunteer lake monitors across Canada, the National Lake Blitz raises awareness of the impacts of climate change on lake ecosystems and the need for long-term monitoring to better understand lake health.

Building on the success of its inaugural year, the 2nd Annual Lake Blitz ran from May to September 2022. The program engaged 160 citizen scientists who monitored 113 lakes from the Yukon to Nova Scotia. Volunteers gathered data, including air and water temperature, and documented lake conditions with notes taken and photography.

Monthly “Volunteer Spotlights” showcased individual monitors from across Canada. Living Lakes Canada hosted a number of in-person and virtual Lake Blitz workshops and training sessions that engaged youth, seniors and educators. We delivered three Lake Blitz presentations to water stewardship groups in B.C., Manitoba and Ontario to empower current and future Lake Blitz participants and grow our relationships with other partner organizations. 2022 also saw the launch of the Lake Blitz Observation Map, an easy-to-use online platform that hosts and displays all the data collected by Lake Blitz volunteers.

In 2022, almost 300 photos of 160 lakes across Canada were submitted to the Lake Biodiversity Photo Challenge. Public Favourite and Judges’ Favourite winners were chosen across three categories (the photo to the left of Maclean Ponds, BC was Judges’ Favourite for Most Biodiverse by Lily Liang). The six winners took home great prizes offered by our gift sponsors Earth Rangers, Kicking Horse Coffee, LUSH, and David’s Tea.

In this second year of the National Lake Blitz, the number of monitored lakes jumped from 25 in 2021 to 113 in 2022 (an increase of 350%), the number of registered volunteers grew from 50 to 350 (a 600% increase), and there was a 55% increase in photo submissions to the Lake Biodiversity Photo Challenge.

“Collecting this data helps to build a picture of how our lakes are changing, what’s a natural, seasonal change and what might be impacts of climate change. Over time we’ll have a really good understanding of what’s normal and what isn’t.”

Megan Blackmore, 2022 Lake Blitz Volunteer, British Columbia

Columbia Basin Groundwater Monitoring Program

As surface water reliability decreases due to climate impacts, a greater understanding of groundwater systems becomes ever more important. Living Lakes Canada’s Columbia Basin Groundwater Monitoring program continues to grow this understanding. The program partners with existing well owners to establish Volunteer Observation Wells. In 2022, seven new monitoring wells were established in Columbia Basin communities. This brought the year-end total to 29 active monitoring wells, complementing the seven provincially monitored wells of the BC Provincial Groundwater Observation Well Network.

Throughout 2022, our staff connected with well owners, ensured the proper functioning of monitoring equipment, and downloaded the water data. The data collected details the seasonal changes in groundwater levels — including the impacts of spring runoff and drought conditions — and allows for year-to-year comparisons to be made. This data is made publicly available on the Columbia Basin Water Hub and the provincial government’s Real-time Water Data Tool and will be used to contribute to best water management practices.

The program also aims to increase groundwater literacy. In 2022, we partnered again with the Selkirk College School of Environment and Geomatics. Eighty hydrology students had the opportunity to apply concepts learned in the classroom to real-world well monitoring under the guidance of Groundwater Field Operations and Data Manager Carol Luttmer. 

Carol was recognized by Ground Water Canada in a Fall 2022 feature podcast and article as one of four top women in Canada’s groundwater industry. The program was also featured in Ground Water Canada Magazine’s Winter 2022 issue.

“The Living Lakes Groundwater Monitoring Program has proven to be a beneficial resource for us at Western Water Associates. As hydrogeologists, we are constantly looking for sources of reliable groundwater data that are relevant to the watersheds in which we are working. The Living Lakes data is easily accessible and provides valuable insight into the seasonal and long-term trends of groundwater within specific regions.”

Paul Williamson, Hydrogeologist, Western Water Associates

Kootenay Watershed Science

The Kootenay Watershed Science program completed another year of streamflow monitoring at seven sites in the North Kootenay Lake region of the Columbia Basin. Notably, 2022 marked over 10 years of consistent monitoring at five different sites. Ten years is a significant milestone when collecting monitoring data. Streamflow records over this timeframe can be used to effectively estimate future streamflow and subsequently aid climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Late in 2022, Kootenay Watershed Science (KWS) initiated work with remote communities of the North Kootenay Lake region to plan for wildfire mitigation. A project that will conclude in 2023 is bringing together the program’s understanding of local watersheds, collaboration with local government, and modelling of the data collected to deliver mapping of available water and recommendations for wildfire suppression.

Alongside streamflow monitoring, KWS continued to monitor three climate sites and complete snow surveys at two high elevation sites. The climate stations measure temperature and precipitation, while the snow surveys help to understand the region’s snowpacks and water availability, and contribute to flood forecasting and community safety.

Together with our High Elevation Monitoring Program, KWS began to study Upper Fletcher Lake near Kaslo, BC. The aim of this joint monitoring site is to assess the health and function of this alpine lake ecosystem as well as track climate change impacts.

Integrated Environmental Planning students at Selkirk College benefited from KWS expertise during a hydrometric monitoring lab. Living Lakes Canada program hydrologist Paul Saso led a hands-on field day at Anderson Creek near Nelson, BC where students learned about multiple streamflow measurement methods and the importance of considering streamflow in environmental planning.

“The climate, snow, streamflow and alpine lake monitoring datasets accumulated through the KWS program greatly improve our understanding of the watersheds in our region. This understanding will empower our communities to build a strong case for active watershed management that results in safe and healthy ecologies for a more resilient land base while continuing to provide essential assets such as air and water.”

Aimee Watson, Chair & Area D Director, Regional District of Central Kootenay

Centre of Water Excellence for Youth

Living Lakes Canada recognizes that many of the impacts of climate change on water will have a disproportionate effect on youth. Our Centre of Water Excellence for Youth delivers U30 youth-specific programming that promotes water literacy and educates and empowers youth to meet the water challenges of tomorrow.

Each of our program areas now has a focus on youth engagement, education and training. We partner with post-secondary institutions, youth groups and initiatives, and educational organizations to offer workshops, field days, and presentations. Some of the highlights from last year include:

Members of the Kimberley Youth Action Network and the ʔaq’am Guardians in Training program were brought together for two days of water monitoring mentorship and watershed awareness as part of an Earth Day Watershed Discovery event in April. In the summer, young adults with Wildsight’s Youth Climate Corps learned about lake health assessments and lake ecology in a 1.5-day LakeKeepers workshop that Living Lakes Canada co-hosted with the BC Lake Stewardship Society. Our High Elevation Monitoring program manager gave a lesson on alpine lake and stream system monitoring to a group of young adventurers with the Girls on Ice Kootenay expedition. We delivered a lake monitoring workshop that showcased our National Lake Blitz program to high school educators at the Classrooms to Communities 2022 Provincial Conference in Revelstoke. And our student intern Amelia Smart was able to support a variety of our water stewardship programs prior to pursuing a Master’s degree in hydrology.

At the post-secondary level, three UBC Sustainability Scholars were recruited to work on the FIMP Indigenous Knowledge and Values Framework in partnership with Upper Nicola Band; Three hydrometric training courses targeting young professionals were delivered to 24 youth under the age of 30 as part of the Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework program; and three days of groundwater monitoring workshops were delivered to 80 Selkirk College students in Nelson, BC. An intergenerational biomonitoring training course in the Fraser Valley with the Stó:lō First Nation closed off a busy 2022 field season.

“Working with the students was energizing. It is very inspiring to have young people be so interested in learning about water and how to monitor it. It gives me hope for the future that this generation is ready to take on the challenge of managing our precious water.”

Carol Luttmer, Field Operations and Data Manager for Living Lakes Canada’s Columbia Basin Groundwater Monitoring Program

Working towards a BC Watershed Security Strategy & Fund

In 2022, Living Lakes Canada was vocal in supporting watershed protection and community climate adaptation in British Columbia. As a member of the BC Watershed Security Coalition – a collective and non-partisan voice for watershed security in B.C. – we continued to engage in solutions-focused dialogue with the Province to encourage the development of B.C.’s first Watershed Security Strategy and Fund.

In June, Living Lakes Canada Executive Director Kat Hartwig was invited to present to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services for the Budget 2023 Consultation as part of a panel organized by the BC Freshwater Legacy Initiative.

Living Lakes Canada applauds the Province’s actions in moving ahead with this long-awaited policy development. The Province subsidizes fossil fuels, forestry and farming sectors, and water must be regarded in the same way. Funding watershed protection is an opportunity to unite Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in the protection, management, and governance of B.C.’s precious watersheds.