No change to local drought conditions, improvements across B.C.

Jun 13, 2024 | 11:00 AM

For the third week in a row, the Okanagan Basin was rated at Drought Level 1, while several other basins in B.C. improved on a weekly basis.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre updated the conditions June 13.

Under Level 1, adverse impacts to socio-economic and ecosystem values due to conditions would be rare. The only recommended action under Level 1 is to try to conserve water where possible.

According to Environment Canada data, there was no precipitation recorded in Vernon or Kelowna over the previous week.

The North Thompson remained at Level 1 for the thrid week in a row as well.

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All other nearby basins were rated at Level 2, which indicate adverse impacts would be unlikely.

The basins in B.C. that saw improvements on a weekly basis were the Middle Fraser, decreasing from Level 3 to Level 2; the Central Coast and East Vancouver Island, dropping from Level 2 to Level 1; West Vancouver Island decreasing from Level 1 to 0; and Haida Gwaii improving from Level 2 to Level 0.

The Northwest and Stikine basins also remained at Level 0, the lowest possible rating, for the seventh consecutive week.

The East Peace basin remained at Level 5, the highest drought rating, while the surrounding area basins were at Level 4. Those ratings have been in place since early- and mid-May.

The province uses a six-level classification (0-5) to rate the severity of drought conditions. Provincial drought levels are set following the guidance in the British Columbia Drought and Water Scarcity Response Plan (PDF, 958KB).

Drought level classification uses core and supplemental drought indicators.

The core indicators are: