WHEN THE CLIMATE CHANGED: “With hindsight, we can clearly see that in 2015 the West Coast of North America crossed an invisible threshold into a different hydro-meteorological regime,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability
Note to Reader:
The following story provides historical context and perspective on the nature a changing climate on Canada’s “wet coast” as told by Kim Stephens of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia. The story spotlight shines brightly on 2015, a year which was characterized by extremes of drought, wind and rain. The drought was voted the Top Story of 2015. The story below is structured in three parts: “teachable years” in BC history, the 2015 drought, and a year-end interview of Kim Stephens by the Vancouver Province newspaper.
A career perspective on floods and droughts
“A long career provides perspective. In my five decades as water resource planner and engineer, there are five years that really stand out in British Columbia when the topic is floods and droughts,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability.
“After what in respect was a benign half-century, 1987 was British Columbia’s first wake up call. The drought was unprecedented in living memory. Few people are aware that the Metro Vancouver region came within two weeks of the water storage dams being completely empty. There was no Plan B. All anyone could do was hope the rains would come in November. And they did. The downpour on November 2, 1987 broke the drought.”
“The 1987 drought was a defining moment in that it started changing the conversation about water conservation in BC from folks asking why should we even consider using less water, to a consensus emerging that we do need to match water demand to water supply. But it took until 1992, after we experienced our third drought in five years, before people stopped asking the why question.”
Truly Teachable Years
“For the next decade, the weather pattern was stable and memories faded. And then along came The Teachable Year in 2003. And it truly was what we call a teachable moment. The Okanagan Valley was on fire, about 27,000 people were evacuated from the City of Kelowna, and several hundred homes were lost.”
“The evacuation was on a scale that had never before been experienced in this province. This really got the attention of British Columbians: the climate was indeed changing. All of a sudden, it was very real, not an academic scenario.”
“The 2003 teachable year created the opportunity for the Partnership to develop and implement the Water Sustainability Plan for British Columbia through partnerships and collaboration. We were ready to seize the window of opportunity. My Action Plan responsibilities continue to this day.”
To learn more: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/2021/08/02/adjusting-to-longer-and-drier-summers-in-britsh-columbia/
Everything changed in 2015 when extremes became the norm
The climate is changing and the water balance is out of balance
To learn more, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Dealing with Uncertainty and Managing Risk.
VANCOUVER PROVINCE: “Brace for Another Drought Crisis” (interview with Kim Stephens published in December 2015)
In December 2015, both of British Columbia’s major newspapers published front-page news stories that drew attention to the Partnership for Water Sustainability. In addition, both CBC Radio and CBC TV sought out Kim Stephens for his perspective on The Top Story of 2015, that is – the drought that started in Winter 2015 and continued through Summer 2015. To download the front page story published by the Vancouver Province newspaper, click on Brace for Another Drought Crisis.
Hydro-Climatic Change & Its Consequences
“The drought that extended this past winter, spring and summer from Vancouver Island to Manitoba and from Mexico to the Yukon suggests we may be crossing an invisible threshold into a different hydro-meteorological regime in Western North America. This would have huge consequences for water security,” concluded Bob Sandford, keynote speaker for the Feast AND Famine Workshop co-hosted by the Partnership for Water Sustainability and Irrigation Industry Association on December 1, 2015 in Richmond, BC.
“We can expect deeper, more persistent drought punctuated by flooding. It is interesting to think about how these kinds of changes make historic averages meaningless.”
Bob Sandford’s observations and perspective provide context for selection of the 2015 drought as The Top Story of 2015. Media attention initially resulted from coverage of the Feast AND Famine Workshop. The Vancouver Sun’s Larry Pynn attended and this led to an interview and headline story featuring Ted van der Gulik, Partnership President. This coverage was followed by 6 newspaper, radio and television interviews featuring Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director.
Brace for Another Drought Crisis
“In all 6 interviews, I emphasized that the ‘new normal’ in BC is drought and flooding,” says Kim Stephens. “The summer dry season has extended on both ends. Communities can no longer count on a predictable snowpack and reliable rain to maintain a healthy water balance in watersheds. This is putting water supply systems and ecosystems under extreme stress. What you do on the land or how you treat the land has direct implications and consequences for water use.”
Reflections on the 2015 Drought
“Kim Stephens said that Metro Vancouver’s two ‘comparatively small’ reservoirs were designed for repeated rainfalls and heavy snow in the mountains. Those conditions are not expected to apply over the next nine months and the population has grown to about 2.5 million people,” wrote Kent Spencer in a front-page story headlined Brace for Another Drought Crisis.
Stephens studied drought for Metro Vancouver after two severe shortages in 1987 and 1992, “We had a five month drought in 1987. Metro Vancouver was within two weeks of running out of water,” he said.
Stephens said water shortfalls occur because Metro’s wholly owned reservoirs, the Capilano and Seymour, are “puddles”. “They are in small, V-shaped river valleys,” he said.
“In a nutshell, the issue and concern can be summarized in four points: Southwest BC dodged a bullet this past summer (2015); there have been past crises; there is a repeating pattern; and increasing water supply storage is problematic,” summarizes Kim Stephens.
To Learn More:
To read the complete story, down a PDF copy of Brace for Another Drought Crisis.
Cleveland Dam and Capilano Lake– dropping water level (July 19, 2015) (Photo Credit: Cameron Stephens)
