[Community Watershed Guidebook Table of Contents]

4 Contingency planning in the case of damage to the water supply

This section describes the purpose, content, roles and responsibilities in developing and executing a contingency plan for a community watershed. The contingency plan is not mandatory under the Forest Practices Code, but is recommended to meet community watershed objectives.

4.1 Elements of a contingency plan

A contingency plan helps provide for supplying emergency water and rehabilitating the water system should damage occur. The contingency plan is based on the principle of immediate response to water supply problems. Aspects of a contingency plan for a community watershed follow:

a water supply contingency plan is recommended as part of the community watershed planning process
a contingency plan should be developed for community watersheds in consultation with all resource users and appropriate government agencies
the contingency plan should apply to all resource activities on Crown and private lands within the community watershed
licensed resource users operating within a community watershed can be directed by their agreements to respond to water resource problems in the provincial forest. Private land developers are asked to follow the area-specific contingency measures for the community watershed.
The contingency plan should identify:
- a list of major participants
- names, addresses and phone numbers of the initial contacts to ensure proper action (Figure 2)
- procedures for providing alternative water supplies for the community watershed users. These can include, for example, the use of water tankers, wells or preconstructed pipelines from adjacent drainages.
- a specific course of action for rehabilitating the water supply should a disruption or impairment occur
- procedures to mitigate potential water supply problems (e.g., constructing settling ponds, laying bypass pipe and constructing a filter system to clarify water).

Figure 2. Emergency response flow chart.

4.2 Major participants

The major participants in developing a contingency plan generally include representatives from government agencies and the licensed users with responsibilities or interests in resource management on the lands within the community watershed. Interested parties may include:

water purveyor or representative of community water supply system
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (Water Management Program and Environmental Protection Department)
Ministry of Forests (local forest district)
Ministry of Employment and Investment
Ministry of Attorney General (Provincial Emergency Program)
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
major forest licensee
road and timber harvesting contractors
individual water licensees
mining licensees
range licensees.

Specific individuals are designated as initial contacts in the contingency plan. The plan includes their names, addresses and phone numbers.

4.3 General roles and responsibilities

When an event adversely affects the quality or quantity of water within a watershed by disrupting or damaging a water supply or posing a health risk, participants shall re-establish the supply or mitigate harmful effects as quickly as possible. This may require that the participants undertake remedial action, using any available resources, before responsibility is determined.

The roles and responsibilities of participants vary among and within plans, depending on activities within the community watershed and the nature of the disruption or damage to the water supply. This section summarizes typical roles and responsibilities for some of the major participants.

4.3.1 Water purveyors and water licensees

The roles and responsibilities of the water purveyor and water licensees are to:

be responsible for the installation and maintenance of systems consistent with their licensing, and capable of handling the natural ranges of water quantity and quality from the source, including sediment loads
in cooperation with the appropriate agencies and other resource licensees, restore a disrupted water supply as quickly as possible to minimize impacts on water users.

4.3.2 Ministry of Health

The roles and responsibilities of the Ministry of Health are to:

in the event of an emergency disruption to the water supply, determine whether or not the water being distributed is potable and advise the water purveyor
upon request, assist with the emergency investigation and response in the event of impairment or disruption of water quality or quantity.

4.3.3 Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks

In most contingency plans, the Water Management Program is the lead participant from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. The Environmental Protection department, Fish and Wildlife Branch and conservation officer service may be asked to participate, depending on the circumstances.

The roles and responsibilities of the Water Management Program are to:

if water quality or quantity are impaired or disrupted, assist with the emergency investigation and response
with appropriate ministries, adjudicate disagreements over responsibilities and determine what remedial actions are required and by whom, as legislated under the Water Act and other applicable legislation.

4.3.4 Ministry of Forests

The roles and responsibilities of the Ministry of Forests are to:

direct tenure holders to rectify situations, arising from activities authorized by the ministry, that could impair or degrade water quality or quantity
through the district manager, repair damage to a water supply if forest tenure has expired
if water quality or quantity are impaired or disrupted, help with the emergency investigation and response
with appropriate ministries, adjudicate disagreements over responsibilities and determine what remedial actions are required and by whom, as legislated under the Ministry of Forests Act, Forest Act, Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and other legislation
assume the role and responsibilities of a forest licensee, as set out in this section under "Resource licensees and tenure holders," when the Ministry of Forests carries out operations under the Small Business Forest Enterprise Program.

4.3.5 Ministry of Employment and Investment

The roles and responsibilities of the Ministry of Employment and Investment are to:

direct mine and petroleum tenure holders to correct situations arising from activities authorized by the ministry that could impair or degrade water quality or quantity
if related to mining, assist with the emergency investigation and response in the event of impairment or disruption of water quality or quantity
with appropriate provincial ministries, adjudicate disagreements over responsibilities and determine what remedial actions are required and by whom, according to the ministry's legislation.

4.3.6 Ministry of Attorney General

The Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) helps local governments and provincial ministries prepare for, and respond to, disasters that threaten life and property.

The Provincial Emergency Program may:

help provide emergency potable water if an emergency causes damage to or loss of a water supply that the water purveyor or licensee can not resolve
provide emergency financial assistance to others through the disaster financial assistance program, to repair a damaged water supply.

4.3.7 Resource licensees, tenure holders, resource developers and their contractors

The roles and responsibilities of resource licensees are to:

advise affected purveyors or water licensees of planned interruptions or potential sediment increases as a result of their activities
immediately advise the water licensees, the Water Management Program and the ministry authorizing their activities of any situation for which they are responsible, or which they observe, that could harm water quality or quantity
immediately take remedial action to correct any situation, which may be a result of their activities, that harms water quality and quantity or otherwise damages a water supply system
cooperate with the water purveyor or licensees and the appropriate agencies to restore a disrupted water supply quickly, thereby minimizing impacts on water users.

4.4 Determination of responsibility

The objective of the contingency plan is to resolve all water supply problems quickly and, where necessary, to determine responsibility following rehabilitative work. Where damage to a water supply occurs:

refer to the contingency plan flow chart for the sequence of events in solving an unplanned impairment to water supplies
if a contractor or licensee is on site, the contractor or licensee and the representative of the community water supply should try to determine the nature of and responsibility for the problem and agree on how to correct it. This should be done within 12 hours of the impaired supply being reported.
the regional water management office, the licensee's authorizing agency and PEP shall be notified immediately of any impairment that cannot be corrected within 12 hours
sometimes the contractor and the representative of the community water supply cannot agree on the type and extent of, and responsibility for, remedial action. They shall immediately notify the Water Management Program, Ministry of Forests or Ministry of Health to ask for an emergency response team.
an emergency response team includes experts from the Water Management Department of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, the Ministry of Forests, the Ministry of Health, a representative of the water users and, where appropriate, the resource licensee or contractor. Involvement of PEP may also be requested depending on circumstances. Outside experts may be called if asked by the team.
the emergency response team is responsible for determining the source and cause of damage to the water supply. The team prepares recommendations on the type of remedial action required and responsibility for it. They do this within 48 hours of identification of the problem.
the emergency response team submits a report on its findings to the regional water manager, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and the Ministry of Forests district manager, with recommendations on assignment of responsibilities.

5 Water quality monitoring

The Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and regulations refer to protecting water quality. Water quality monitoring is needed to ensure the effective protection of water quality. This section outlines some approaches to water quality monitoring, within community watersheds.

Requirements:

Fertilizers

Forest fertilization must not cause water quality to fall below any water quality objectives established by the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks.
Application of fertilizer in a community watershed must not cause:
- nitrate-N levels in a stream to exceed 10 mg/L measured below the area where the fertilizer is applied, or 1 mg/L measured at the community water supply water intake
- chlorophyll-a levels to exceed more than 2 µg/L in a lake or 50 mg/m² in a stream.

For more information on project-specific monitoring of forest fertilizer use, see section 12 "Forest fertilizer management."

Pesticides

Where forest pesticides or their breakdown products have been detected at the community water supply intake through water quality sampling, no further use of pesticides is permitted in the watershed unless the Ministry of Health is satisfied that remedial measures have been taken to prevent future contamination.

For more information on project-specific monitoring of pesticide use, see section 13. "Pesticide management."

Harvesting

Timber harvesting must not cause the water quality objectives established by BC Environment to be exceeded.

Range

Livestock must be removed from a community watershed where livestock are the cause of water exceeding the water quality objectives set by BC Environment, until corrective measures are completed.
The range use plan must ensure that livestock use of the riparian area does not cause fecal contamination or sedimentation of streams and lakes such that water quality is degraded at the intake of a known domestic water user.

Roads

Road construction or modification or maintenance or deactivation activities must not cause the water quality objectives established by BC Environment to be exceeded.

Target conditions

5.1 Water quality objectives

Water quality objectives are based on scientific guidelines called water quality criteria, which relate the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of water, biota or sediment to their effects on water use, including aquatic life. Objectives are derived from criteria by considering the local water quality, water uses, water movement, waste discharges and socio-economic factors. Water quality criteria and objectives are defined as follows:

a water quality criterion is a maximum/or minimum value for a physical, chemical or biological characteristic of the water. Applicable province-wide, water quality criteria must not be exceeded, to prevent specified detrimental effects from occurring to a water use, including aquatic life, under specified environmental conditions.
a water quality objective is a criterion adapted to protect the most sensitive designated water use at a specific location with an adequate degree of safety, taking local circumstances into account.

To determine existing water quality objectives for a watershed, contact the regional manager, Environmental Protection Program, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks.

For further information on water quality objectives, refer to Principles for Preparing Water Quality Objectives in British Columbia (1986) and Developing Water Quality Objectives in British Columbia – A User's Guide (1996), Water Quality Branch, Environmental Protection Department, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks.

Or contact:

: Water Quality Branch
Environmental Protection Department
Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
765 Broughton Street
Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4

5.2 Tiered approach to water quality monitoring

5.2.1 Reconnaissance monitoring

Reconnaissance monitoring means the regular field inspections or "sanitary surveys" of the watershed by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. Public health inspectors look for environmental indicators such as mats of algae, sediment problems, livestock access and obvious chemical or bacterial contamination sources. The Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks conducts occasional field surveys of sediment sources, disturbed riparian areas and stream channel problems. Reconnaissance monitoring complements baseline monitoring.

5.2.2 Baseline monitoring

Baseline monitoring is done to characterize existing water quality conditions and to establish a reference database for future comparison. This type of monitoring provides data to determine if a water quality characteristic changes over time. The purpose of baseline monitoring is to:

document baseline conditions
document trends in water quality
provide data for setting water quality objectives.

A baseline monitoring strategy should be prepared by the regional BC Environment office. The strategy should priorize community watersheds for baseline water quality monitoring. Considerations include regional representativeness of the watershed, documented water quality problems, whether the watershed represents undisturbed conditions, and the ability of the water licensee to continuously operate monitoring equipment.

Preferably, baseline monitoring should be established before forest activities occur. Since water quality and quantity regularly fluctuate due to natural variability, a minimum of three years of pre-development data are recommended. Baseline monitoring can also be conducted upstream from forest activities. If pre-development baseline data are unavailable and upstream (or operational) monitoring is not possible, baseline monitoring could be conducted in an adjacent, undisturbed watershed with similar hydrologic and geologic characteristics. For streams with highly variable water quality, upstream and downstream operational monitoring is preferred.

The parameters of turbidity, suspended solids, total and fecal coliforms, and water level or streamflow are listed in Table 6. These are the minimum measures to include in a baseline water quality monitoring program.

Table 6. Water quality parameters for baseline monitoring

Description of water quality parameters

Turbidity

Turbidity describes the cloudy or hazy characteristic of water and is usually due to suspended particles of silt and clay. Such particles affect the quality of drinking water by interfering with disinfection and impairing the appearance of the water. Turbidity is also a surrogate measure of the concentration of suspended sediments which, when high, can harm aquatic organisms.

Turbidity measurements can vary greatly and depend on climatic conditions and flow. Frequent sampling is necessary during high flows. The best sampling strategy is to use an automated turbidity measurement system, such as an optical backscatter probe with a data logger, which provides a continuous record of turbidity. Where manual, discrete sampling is done, samples during and after the first large storm and during the spring freshet should be taken at least weekly and preferably daily. The basis for these frequencies is the tendency for stream erosion to occur during storms, as well as the high variability of turbidity in and between storms.

Bacteria: total and fecal coliforms

The coliform group is an indicator of contamination. These bacteria, always present in the intestinal tracts of humans and other warm-blooded animals, are excreted in large numbers in fecal wastes. Water is not a natural medium for coliform organisms so their presence indicates fecal contamination. The most commonly monitored bacteria are total and fecal coliforms, whose populations vary widely over short periods.

Although total coliform counts are a less reliable indicator of fecal contamination than fecal coliform counts, they are widely used because they indicate the adequacy of treatment in drinking water supplies. In the absence of fecal coliforms, the presence of total coliforms may be due to relatively less recent fecal contamination or to normal indigenous bacteria. Total coliforms include a wide variety of bacteria, many not pathogenic and not associated with human waste. Close monitoring of all aspects of raw water quality is required so that treatment can be adjusted in accordance with any variation detected.

The fecal coliform test is specific for fecal contamination and preferred for assessing the microbial quality of raw water.

Bacterial counts tend to vary highly over time. They vary greatest during rainstorms and snowmelt, and least during summer flow. Sampling during and after the first large storm in the autumn and during the spring freshet should be done at least weekly and preferably more frequently. During the summer low-flow times, sampling could be done monthly, but is preferably carried out bi-weekly.

Streamflow or water level

Water transports material in a stream, and streamflow is the measure of the water flowing in a stream at any point in time. Variability in streamflow therefore directly affects the concentrations of materials in a stream. Streamflow has important implications for the stability of the stream channel, the size and quantity of bed material, and sediment transport rates. Patterns and values of discharge are important characteristics that integrate the different effects of management activities on the hydrologic cycle.

Measurements can be made continually with the appropriate instrumentation (e.g., water level recorder or data logger), or daily to monthly where measurements are made manually. The frequency of water level monitoring is based on the rate of water level or flow change that is occurring (that is, daily monitoring is needed when changes are occurring; monthly is enough when the level or flow is stable). Assistance from a hydrologist should be sought to determine the best site location and frequency for monitoring.

Responsibility

Regional water quality monitoring strategy

The regional BC Environment Water Management Program develops a strategy and implementation programs for water quality monitoring in the regions.

Monitoring at the water intake

The water licensee is responsible for conducting baseline water quality monitoring at the water intake. The licensee must maintain probes on a weekly basis, take systematic quality control samples, and operate the monitoring equipment. BC Environment provides expertise on monitoring standards and technical advice on establishing monitoring stations. Funding for instrumentation and analysis may be provided through BC Environment or Forest Renewal B.C., or partial funding agreements may be negotiated with the timber licensee.

Data management

Water quality data from Forest Practices Code monitoring should be captured in one of Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks' corporate databases: the Environment Monitoring System (EMS) for discrete samples, and the Water Quality Data Management System (WQDMS) for continuous data.

Data for forest companies, water licensees and other agencies are accessible through the ministry or the Internet. For more information, contact:

: Water Quality Branch
Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
765 Broughton Street
Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4

5.2.3 Impact assessment monitoring

The purpose of impact assessment is to determine the specific cause and location of the impacts. In some cases a reconnaissance survey will be enough to identify obvious sources of water contamination. Where more dispersed or less obvious impacts are occurring, the water quality monitoring program should be implemented. This is triggered by the baseline monitoring program results or by obvious changes in the quality or quantity of water in the community watershed.

Monitoring water quality to detect impacts from forest or range practices is not always straightforward. Good experimental design is imperative.

BC Environment and Ministry of Forests are both responsible for conducting impact assessment monitoring.