Resources

For residents:

• A River Film
• Okanagan Flood Story
• For Well Owners
• Make Water Work
• Don't Move Mussel - Stop Invasive Aquatic Hitchhikers
• Slow it. Spread it. Sink it! Homeowner's Guide
• BCWF Conservation App
• Okanagan Lakeshore Living Guide
• Building Climate Resilience in the Okanagan – A Homeowner’s Resource Guide

For teachers & students:

• Our Relationship with Water in the Okanagan Education Guide
• Okanagan Climate Infographic
• Choose Your Watershed Poster
• The Okanagan Basin Waterscape Poster & Unraveling the Myth of Abundance Teacher's Guide
• Know Your H₂O – Video and Guide
• Get to know your H₂O!

Slow it. Spread it. Sink it!
The Slow it. Spread it. Sink it! An Okanagan Homeowner’s Guide to Using Rain as a Resource is an easy-to-use guidebook, showing local residents how they can easily capture and re-use the water that falls on their property.

There are many reasons for collecting and using rainwater.  First, the water that comes out of our taps has been cleaned and treated at great cost to your water provider – and you, the taxpayer. Using treated water on our gardens, and for other non-consumptive purposes, is not money well-spent.  As more and more communities adopt the use of water meters, and we start paying for the amount of water we use, saving water will mean saving money.

Climate change studies suggest that, in addition to the potential for drought, the Okanagan will also experience periods of extreme rains.  Heavy rains can cause damage, washing debris into our storm sewers, affecting water quality, which in turn can affect the fish, the wildlife, and the people who rely on these waters.

It makes sense then, to collect the water that falls on our properties. The goal is to: Slow it down instead of speeding it through pipes and into the lakes; Spread it out across the properties instead of funneling it into storm sewers, and; Sink it back into the ground, recharging our groundwater supplies, and naturally filtering it before the water finds its way back into our streams and lakes.

Find the Slow it. Spread it. Sink it! (12MB PDF) here.

 

BCWF Conservation App
Love the outdoors? Help protect our waters, and our natural resources. We’re very pleased to support the creation of the BC Wildlife Federation's CONSERVATION APP & website, making it easier than ever to report illegal activity that puts aquatic habitat, sensitive ecosystems, and our drinking water at risk. This free app allows users to send geo-referenced, time-stamped images of environmental infractions to the BC Conservation Officer Service for follow-up.

For more info and to download the app, visit the BC Wildlife Federation website.

 

Okanagan Lakeshore Living
The Okanagan Lakeshore Living Guide was created for Okanagan property owners who are lucky to live along our shoreline but who are also looking for practical solutions to protect their property from flooding, wave erosion, safeguard drinking water, and protect these natural areas for future generations.

The guide was developed in response to a foreshore survey conducted in Fall 2016 that found only 41% of the Okanagan’s lakefront remains in a natural state. The shoreline is important habitat to a growing number of threatened and endangered species in our valley. As noted, it also provides flood protection and helps protect water quality.

This guide offers practical solutions to help protect these special places and reverse the loss of this sensitive habitat. Find Okanagan Lakeshore Living online here, or download the PDF.

 

Building Climate Resilience in the Okanagan – A Homeowner’s Resource Guide
The climate in the Okanagan is changing. The Building Climate Resilience in the Okanagan homeowner’s guide summarizes climate challenges, including flooding, drought and fire, and provides solutions to help local residents protect and enhance their home.

Find the Building Climate Resilience in the Okanagan – A Homeowner’s Resource Guide online here.

 

Our Relationship with Water in the Okanagan Education Guide
This guide, which includes an “Introduction," an “Okanagan Watershed and Climate" module and a “Building Outdoor Learning Spaces" module was developed to meet the growing request from teachers for Okanagan-related water education resources.

The guide meets B.C. curriculum guidelines, incorporates a Syilx (Okanagan) perspective, and includes resources to explore outdoor education. Suitable for Kindergarten to Gr. 12.

• Introduction
• Okanagan Watershed and Climate Module
• Building Outdoor Learning Spaces Module

 

Okanagan Climate Infographic

This infographic looks at Okanagan-specific climate issues and their impact on water – the challenges and the solutions!

Copies of the infographic are available by emailing us at okwaterwise@obwb.ca or calling us in Kelowna, B.C. at 250-469-6271.

Choose Your Watershed Poster
Similar to “choose your own adventure” books, this poster invites people to choose the watershed they want and illustrates how various actions in different parts of the Okanagan basin can harm or protect water quality.

Copies of the poster are available by calling us in Kelowna, B.C. at 250-469-6271, or emailing okwaterwise@obwb.ca.

Download the poster

 

 

 

 

The Okanagan Basin Waterscape Poster
The Okanagan Basin Waterscape Poster was created as a water education tool. This detailed and colourful poster illustrates topics of major importance to water resources in the Okanagan, including groundwater, domestic water use, and the effects of climate change and population growth. Copies of the poster are available by calling us in Kelowna, B.C. at 250-469-6271.

Download the poster (75MB PDF - note this is a LARGE file!)

"Unraveling the Myth of Abundance," is an accompanying teacher's guide to the Okanagan Basin Waterscape poster and includes 27 activities and several blackline master worksheets. The guide was developed for Grades 4-8, and 11-12.

Find the teacher's guide here.

 

 

Know Your H₂O: Understanding and Protecting Water – Video & Guide
This resource was developed by City of Kelowna's Water Smart Program in partnership with Okanagan WaterWise. The video looks at issues facing water in the Okanagan – both the amount we have, and its quality – and includes an accompanying teacher’s guide. Students are encouraged to learn, act, and inspire others, to reduce water use at home and throughout the Okanagan valley. The guide and video were created for, but not limited to, students in Gr. 6 - 10.

Find the video here.

Download the guide (PDF)

 

 

Get to know your H₂O!
These activity sheets were created by the BC Water & Waste Association – an Okanagan WaterWise partner – as part of BC Drinking Water Week.

Learn more about water in the Okanagan and tips to protect it at Okanagan WaterWise.

Join us on Facebook and Instagram and share your own water-saving ideas! You can also follow us on Twitter!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW! Okanagan climate infographic:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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