LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Those who forged their career on the basis of the old will never admit to the wrong precedent. These are the counter-revolutionary forces!” stated Dr. Younes Alila, professional engineer and professor in the UBC Faculty of Forestry
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. The edition published on May 21, 2022224 featured Dr. Younes Alila of the UBC Faculty of Forestry. Through his research thrust over three decades, he landed on a discovery that challenges mainstream practices and provides the foundation for a paradigm-shift in forest hydrology science and practice.
Watersheds in BC are at a heightened risk
“It is happenstance that I connected with Dr. Younes Alila. My initial conversation with Younes was a 3-hour “firehose experience”. Expressed another way, it was a flood of information to absorb. But it is all good,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.
“And I am so happy that our orbits and spheres of influence have intersected. Younes has a clear message regarding land changes and water consequences that practitioners and decision-makers far and wide need to heed.”
“He uses the term Hydrology of Convenience to frame the issue and thus capture attention. This framing resonates with me because it parallels what Andy Reese, an American water resources engineer and textbook author, had in mind when he coined the term Voodoo Hydrology in 2006.”
“Both terms align with the work and mission of Peter Coombes in Australia, a former Chief Scientist with the State of Victoria. These three are champions in marshalling the case against misguided and scientifically indefensible mainstream practice. However, bringing about change in attitudes and mindsets seems to require a career and lifetime commitment.”
YOUTUBE VIDEO: Powerful. Compelling. Younes Alila is passionate and engaging!
“Hydrology is hydrology. And our land ethic has consequences for water, whether the landscape is urban or wilderness,” continued Kim Stephens.
“To gain an appreciation for the science of forests and floods, and the implications for people, a 47-minute professionally produced video of Dr. Younes Alila in full flight is MUCH WATCH viewing. He is a man on a mission. He is passionate and engaging. And that is a good thing.”
“On April 13th 2024, the Interior Watershed Task Force, a coalition concerned with clearcut logging of primary forests and watersheds in BC’s Interior, hosted a Community Town Hall event at UBC Okanagan Campus. In sharing his findings with that audience, Younes Alila laid out a compelling and powerful storyline that he titled Hydrology of Convenience in BC Forestry.”
Click on the image to view the YouTube video
Forests and floods: A new paradigm sheds light on age-old controversies
“In conversation with Younes Alila, I learned that a seminal moment in his life story occurred in 2009. In that year, his landmark research paper titled Forests and floods: A new paradigm sheds light on age-old controversies was published.”
“As Younes explained it, the paradigm-shift revolves around the “science of extremes and frequency”. Our conversation reminded me of two seminal moments in my career – one in 1996 and another in 2002. Common to all three is the fact that land use changes have consequences.”
“And Younes pulls no punches when he states that:
Circa 2000, re-inventing urban hydrology meant going back to first principles
“In 1996, publication of research by Richard Horner and Chris May at the University of Washington had a seismic impact. They correlated land use changes with impacts on stream health. Their findings shook the very foundations of drainage engineering practice.”
“Their work inspired me to ‘re-invent urban hydrology’ by developing the Water Balance Methodology circa 2000 for setting performance targets. This is the technical foundation for Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia, released by the Province in 2002.”
“But there is little or no memory of those seminal moments. And so, “misguided and scientifically indefensible” practices are perpetuated decade after decade even as flooding AND stream degradation worsen. This is why Andy Reese coined the term Voodoo Hydrology in 2006 to describe urban drainage practice,” concluded Kim Stephens.
Voodoo Hydrology explained
“All uses of rainfall instead of flow data make the ‘Big Assumption’,” states Andy Reese. “This is a problem, because there are an infinite number of combinations of all the variables within the watershed we have to estimate to try to arrive at that one peak flow.”
“So we must make simplifying assumptions about everything that affects runoff volume and that moderates its flow rate.”
To Learn More:
To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Landscapes and watersheds in BC are at a heightened risk.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Younes-Alila_Forest-Hydrology-and-Floods_2024.pdf