Creston Valley Alternate Water Supply Feasibility Study

The purpose of this project is to review the feasibility of alternative long-term water supply for agriculture in the Creston Valley. The intent is to support agriculture and to secure additional water supply for drought resilience.

In 2019, the Regional Board adopted a Drinking Water Conservation Plan. Presently, treated drinking water from Arrow Creek is used to irrigate agricultural crops in the Creston Valley. This project aims to explore alternative water sources and infrastructure required for crop irrigation - helping to sustain agriculture in the Creston Valley. By securing a separate water source for irrigation, the project also promotes drinking water conservation, preserving Arrow Creek's treated water for domestic use and alleviating pressure on the sensitive Goat River watershed.

Funding Source

Funding for this project was received through the Agricultural Water Infrastructure Program, which is funded by the Government of BC through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

Project Outcomes

The project is a necessary first step in securing a sustainable source of water for agriculture in the Creston Valley, thereby decreasing the pressure on the Arrow Creek water supply and the Goat River watershed. The goals of the project are as follows:

• Define water supply areas that are currently at risk and may require a new water supply in the near future.
• Identify the interested parties, water purveyors, and First Nations governments with interests, and rights in each area of interest.
• Summarize current agricultural land uses and how agriculture in the study area could evolve in response to changes to precipitation and hydrological regimes, market forces, and food trends, based on available information. Establish and define future condition scenarios to form the basis of predictive water demand.
• Explore options to centralize water supply on the Kootenay River that would reduce pressure from over-allocated waterbodies and at-risk supply areas.
• Identify potential infrastructure requirements including intake, treatment, storage and water conveyance options for a proposed Kootenay River water supply system. The study will present and evaluate these infrastructure options and provide high-level cost estimates for each.
• Assess agricultural potential and the cost/benefit ratio if water supply and reliability in increased.

Proposed Agricultural Water Supply Infrastructure - Routing Map

A map has been created and is available for download from this page. The map provides conceptual high-level routing for proposed intake and water transmission infrastructure needed to supply water over a large area of the Creston Valley. Included on this map are estimated maximum day water demands for agriculture derived from a full build-out scenario for agricultural use.

In order to better understand current water use in the valley, the study team has also produced a map of current points of groundwater and surface water diversion as well as licence status, and this map is available to download from this page.

Feedback from Agricultural Producers is Important

Understanding current and future agricultural use and water needs in the Creston Valley is important for this project and your feedback is valuable. Please take a few moments to fill out the short survey and have your voice heard. Your responses are important to us, and will help determine the size and scale of infrastructure that is needed and that residents are willing to support.

November 7th, 2024 Stakeholder Presentation Available to Download

The presentation to Stakeholders is now available to read and download from the "documents" link on this page. If you have questions or comments please contact Eileen Senyk or Chris Gainham - contact information is available in the "Who's Listening" tab on this page.