Okanagan river most endangered in province

Development and agriculture are wreaking havoc on an important Southern Interior river, according to the Outdoor Recreation Council.

The Council has chosen the Kettle River east of Osoyoos as the most endangered river in B.C. for 2011.

“The issues unfolding on the Kettle highlight the urgency of updating B.C.’s century-old Water Act,” said Mark Angelo of the Rivers Chair of the Outdoor Recreation Council.

While the B.C. government is looking at changing legislation to further protect waterways next year, Angelo says the fate of the Kettle remains precarious.

The river runs near the towns of Midway, Rock Creek and Grand Forks.

It suffers from excessive water withdrawal for agricultural purposes, seasonal low flows and high water temperatures which threaten fish stocks.

The council believes the Kettle River is in dire need of a water management plan that will control how much water can be extracted.

B.C.’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2011:

1. Kettle River (water extraction, development)

2. "Sacred Headwaters" of Skeena, Nass and Stikine (coalbed methane)

3. Peace River (hydro-electric dam proposal)

4. Fraser River, "Heart of the Fraser"(urbanization, industrial development, habitat loss)

5. Kokish River (IPP proposal)

6. Morice (pipeline proposal)

7. Taku River (mining development, road proposal, leachate concerns)

8. Similkameen River (cross border dam proposal)

9. Elk River (development, increasing selenium levels, wildlife migration issues)

10. Coquitlam River (excessive sedimentation, urbanization)

11. Bute Inlet Rivers (IPP proposal)

12. Atlin River (impacts of dam and Whitehorse, Yukon energy proposal)

Each year, the Outdoor Recreation Council solicits and reviews nominations for B.C.’s Most Endangered Rivers from its member groups, which total close to 100,000 members, as well as from the general public and resource managers from across the province.