OBWB's 'Excellent' water study

The Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) and 13 partnering agencies were presented with the “Award for Excellence in the Water and Waste Community” by the BC Water and Waste Association (BCWWA).

Photo: Kelly Hayes

The OBWB's water supply study gives the Okanagan the best water supply information in the province.

The award was presented in recognition of the partnership’s work on the three-year extensive Okanagan Water and Supply Demand Study.

“After several years of intense work, getting to understand the complex working of our water in the Okanagan – how much we have – how much we use – it’s wonderful to have that work recognized by the BCWWA with this major provincial award,” says Anna Warwick Sears, Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board.

“It is excellent to be recognized by BCWWA – the biggest water and wastewater industry group in the province. There is no greater honour than to be recognized by your peers."

The award was presented to Dr. Warwick Sears and Dr. Wenda Mason, Manager of the BC River Forecast Centre, and accepted on behalf of the Okanagan Water Supply and Demand Project Partnership during the BCWWA’s annual convention this week at the Penticton Convention Centre.

In presenting the award, the BCWWA noted that the Partnership produced the most detailed assessment of water supply and demand ever conducted in Western Canada. As a result, the Okanagan now has the best water information in the province.

“This Partnership exemplifies the best of collaboration, innovation and applied research which will support future water planning in the Okanagan, but will also help address BC's water challenges,” says Daisy Foster, Chief Executive Officer of the BCWWA.

“The impact of this work will be felt throughout BC for decades by providing new approaches and models that can be replicated in other parts of the province, and by informing BC water policy and law reform.”