New faces continue to occupy new jobs within the Okanagan Basin Water Board administration.
The latest addition is Christina White as the water quality manager. White is a Registered Professional Biologist with a Bachelor of Science Degree specializing in freshwater biology.
She has spent the past 12 years as an aquatic biologist and project manager for an environmental consulting firm. The water quality manager position is a new one for the Okanagan Basin Water Board.
The job portfolio includes planning and permitting work for the water milfoil program, managing invasive mussel prevention, supporting water quality research and restoration projects, and providing policy analysis on key water quality issues.
Other recent additions to the OBWB administrative staff include a new executive director, Melissa Tesche; a new communications manager, Carmen Weld; and creation of the first chief operating officer position, filled by James Littley, who most recently had served as OBWB deputy administrator.
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Ongoing drought issues are on the mind of water managers looking ahead to this summer. Sandra Schira, water science specialist with the OBWB, reports the snowpack melt with freshet runoff expected to peak in the next two months.
Okanagan Lake is currently at a high level in part due to high precipitation levels in March, but the long-term outlook indicates hotter and drier conditions for the next three months. How that reflects potentially into the summer will partly depend on how early and quickly the snow melts.
The Okanagan snowpack level has been steady at 83 per cent of normal for the last few months.
As of April 1, those numbers were 82 per cent in the Okanagan and 79 per cent provincially.
Mission Creek will start to be impacted by the snowmelt in mid- to late-May, while Brenda Mines is snow-free which is several weeks ahead of normal but not as early as last year's record-breaking melt.
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The OBWB is preparing to kick-start its 2025 Make Water Work and Don't Move A Mussel campaigns.
This year, the FireSmart program is working in conjunction with Make Water Work to present a joint message about making appropriate landscaping choices that address both water efficiency and wildfire preparedness.
"Planting FiresSmart vegetation not only helps reduce wildfire risk but can also be more drought-tolerant, aligning perfectly with the Make Water Work campaign's goals of using water wisely," said a staff report.
The Make Water Work kick-off event is May 21, 11 a.m., at the City of Armstrong xeriscape garden.
The Don't Move A Mussel campaign this year will launch a Responsible Recreation Checklist that lays out five things water enthusiasts should to to protect lakes across the Okanagan Basin watershed.
Billboards for both campaigns will be posted across the Okanagan Valley, while the OBWB will work together with local stakeholders the Okanagan Xeriscape Association and the Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society.
