LOOK AT HYDROLOGY DIFFERENTLY: “Look at watersheds as systems. Know your hydrology, prevent floods and habitat loss,” stated Jim Dumont, Engineering Applications Authority for the Partnership for Water Sustainability
Note to Reader:
Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective, and the Story Behind the Story.
The edition published on October 21, 2025 is about profiles in courage. It featured two individuals: former BC cabinet minister Mike Morris; and University of BC professor Dr. Younes Alila. The story behind the story is about how they have aligned efforts to build awareness of Dr. Alila’s Flood Risk Methodology for flood protection. Their compelling message is that removal of forest cover, whether in rural or urban watersheds, increases the frequency, magnitude, duration and liability of floods.
Trouble in the Headwaters
The gripping 25-minute documentary titled Trouble in the Headwaters profiles decades long research by Dr. Younes Alila of UBC Forestry.
In parallel with the documentary, the University of BC issued a news release in July 2025 titled Clear-cutting linked to 18-fold rise in extreme floods.
Look at watersheds as systems. Know your hydrology, prevent floods and habitat loss
“The story behind the story is about Younes Alila’s Flood Risk Methodology for flood protection. A complementary methodology is Jim Dumont’s Stream Health Methodology for habitat protection. Together they support holistic thinking that views watersheds as systems, understands how water reaches streams, and manages them as systems,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.
“Both are founded on the probabilistic framework to understanding and predicting hydrology. The Flood Risk Methodology is about peak flow frequency analysis while the Stream Health Methodology is about low flow duration analysis.”
Four quotable quotes provide context and perspective
“Can we afford to continue on the same path when the stakes are high? We cannot manage the risk of hydrologic extremes without the right understanding of the probabilistic response.”
“There is a need for a new approach to hydrologic design, Jim Dumont advocated in the mid-2000s. So, Fergus Creek in Surrey became the pilot for a runoff-based approach because duration of discharge links directly to stream health.”
“Engineers routinely extrapolate way, way beyond the limits of the data and then argue fiercely about which curve fitting technique is most accurate.”
“Everybody wants to repeat things. Or they ignore things because all the reports and all the findings are covered in dust. Or they are lost in some server that got unplugged 20 years ago when they upgraded the server.”
An urban watershed perspective
North American context for BC innovation
To Learn More:
Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Increased frequency, magnitude, duration and LIABILITY of floods.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/10/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Mike-Morris-on-flood-risk-and-liability_2025.pdf