Licensed Watersheds in the
Kootenay Lake Forest District
Nearly 40% of the timber harvesting landbase in the Kootenay Lake Forest District occurs within the drainage areas of streams which provide water for human consumption. This is the highest of all Forest Districts in B.C.
Community watersheds are those which are licensed under the Water Act for
community water use.
Domestic watersheds are those which are licensed for consumptive use but are not community watersheds. Guidelines for domestic watershed management were generated by the 1997 Kootenay-Boundary Land Use Plan Implementation Strategy (KBLUP IS).
Logging in watersheds has been a major forest management issue in Kootenay Lake Forest District for well over 30 years. A number of water users have advocated a complete ban on watershed logging. However, the potential impact this would have on timber harvest – 40% - has not been acceptable to the provincial government. Part of the Kootenay-Boundary Land Use Plan included confirmation that watersheds would continue to supply both timber and water.
In general, harvesting of trees over an extended timeframe has little effect on water quality and quantity. Most of the problems which do occur are associated with roads, trails, and other forms of soil disturbance. Minimizing the amount of road in a watershed, careful construction, and regular checking/maintenance are of particular importance to watershed management. Control of human access is often of concern to water users, but recreationists and other users of Crown forest often wish to maintain their right to access.
Wildfires also pose significant risk of negative impacts on water
supplies. In 2004, major landslides
happened in domestic watersheds at Kuskanook.
Investigations revealed that the 2003 wildfire above Kuskanook had
created water repellent soils which concentrated runoff onto unstable slopes.
Similar events happened following the
Water license information can be obtained from the Water Management Branch, Ministry of Environment, website.
For information on contingency planning: KBLUP IS section 3.7.4.
Policy on repair of damage to water supplies
Watershed Assessment Procedure Guidebook
