Category Archives: Drought Updates

October Drought Conditions

The Province has just increased the drought level for the Okanagan River Basin to a Level 2 (very dry) and the Kettle River Basin to a level 5 (exceptionally dry). Within the Kettle Basin the two more southern sub-basins (Middle Kettle and Lower Kettle) have increased to a level 4, with the west and northern sub-basins at a level 5. BC Drought Information Portal

With the anticipation of rain continuing this week, the hope is that there will be enough precipitation to bring our stream water levels back to a normal level for this time of year.

If you have any comments, observations and/or concerns in your region that you would like the RDKB to pass on to the Province in support of their reviews, please email them to: [email protected].

With this changing climate, we need to prepare now as it is likely we will start seeing these dry conditions more often. The RDKB is encouraging people to think about how they can reduce their water needs and strengthen their private distribution system to minimize water waste.

Click below to see what residents in the Boundary are already doing to reduce their personal water needs:

Summary of actions already happening in the Boundary to reduce personal water use

If you have any ideas on education or tools that the RDKB Watershed Program should explore or consider incorporating to help support efficient water use, please let me know.    

Sept 2nd drought update

With our region’s cooler spring temperatures and increased precipitation, we continue to see a buffering from these hotter summer temperatures. Attached is a quick summary of conditions here in the Boundary watersheds. I have included links to each map so hopefully they can be accessed individually. Three of the five Kettle River sub-watersheds have been moved to a level 3 (severely dry) drought classification. Under this level, the Province recommends a 30% voluntary reduction of water use. As our stream water levels continue to drop, the streams are being monitored very closely. 

The September drought update can be downloaded from the link below.

Any questions, please reach out to [email protected]

Drought 2021 in review and what’s happening this year

A quick look at last years low water situation, and what we are seeing this year so far.

Link to the recording: https://youtu.be/KYbuYDW6mYU

Below is the presentation that was used in the recording.

The following links provide access to information from monitoring sites, Provincial drought monitoring and drought monitoring throughout North America.