CITY OF DAWSON CREEK & FISHERIES RENEWAL BC KISKATINAW RIVER WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN Our File: 0714.0046.01 May 2003 Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the Peace River Watershed Council and Fisheries Renewal BC for providing the funding for this project. Also special thanks to the City of Dawson Creek for taking the initiative to sponsor the project. And finally a vote of appreciation to all the stakeholders and agencies listed below who took the time to contribute their efforts to this project. Bruce Simard, Peace River Regional District Brian Haddow, Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada – Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) Gord Humphrey, Oil & Gas Commission Ted Henderson, Bear Mountain Grazing Association (BMGA) Rod Kronlachner, Ministry of Forests (MOF) John Stevenson, Ministry of Forests (MOF) Darryl Melnyk, Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management (MSRM) Mark Phinney, Louisana Pacific Canada, FRD (LP) Brendan Anderson, Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection Jesse Bassett, Bear Mountain Grazing Association Graham Suther, Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Brian Pate, West Fraser Mills Chetwynd Jim Gigger, Rancher Jim Scafe, Rancher Emil Heinrich, Rancher Ed Hennon, Rancher Jimmy Yee, Northern Health Authority Brett Henschel, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) Murray Clark, Ducks Unlimited Allan Blair, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Pamela Laron, Northern Health Authority Romona Blackwell, Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Mac and Jackie Leask, Ranchers Alex and Evelyn Allan, Ranchers Bruce Keech, Rancher Dale Basset, Rancher R. Wilson, Rancher Gerald Feschuk, Devon Canada Corporation Darren Rosie, El Paso Oil & Gas Canada Inc. Doug Russell, Louisiana Pacific Canada Mike Mulvahill, Rancher Kiskatinaw River Watershed Plan Page 2 May 2003 \ 0714.0046.01 Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................6 2.0 CURRENT WATERSHED CONDITION - STAGE 1 ....................................................12 2.1.1 Water Supply Infrastructure............................................................................... 12 2.1.2 Intake and Distribution Facilities......................................................................... 13 2.1.3 Water Licences ................................................................................................. 13 2.2 Water Concerns and Issues ...................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Future Demand................................................................................................. 15 2.2.2 Increasing Turbidity .......................................................................................... 15 2.2.3 Water Contamination ........................................................................................ 18 2.3 Watershed Physical Condition ................................................................................... 18 2.3.1 Geography And Climate..................................................................................... 18 2.3.2 Geology, Soils, And Terrain Stability ................................................................... 19 2.3.3 Stream Flow Analysis ........................................................................................ 19 2.4 Watershed Activities ................................................................................................ 21 2.4.1 Land Ownership................................................................................................ 21 2.4.2 Timber Harvesting ............................................................................................ 21 2.4.3 Agriculture ....................................................................................................... 24 2.4.4 Oil And Gas ...................................................................................................... 25 2.4.5 Recreation........................................................................................................ 27 2.5 Current Watershed Condition.................................................................................... 27 2.5.1 Water Quality – Natural And Human Factors ....................................................... 27 2.5.2 Water Quantity ................................................................................................. 30 2.5.3 Summary of Watershed Condition ...................................................................... 32 3.0 DEVELOPING THE WATERSHED PLAN - STAGE 2 ..................................................33 3.1 Short-Term Objectives ............................................................................................. 33 3.2 Long-Term Objectives.............................................................................................. 33 3.3 Desired Future Conditions ........................................................................................ 34 4.0 IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING – STAGE 3................................................37 4.1 Plan Framework ...................................................................................................... 37 4.2 Existing Policies affecting Watershed Management and Identified Gaps........................ 37 4.3 The Action and Implementation Plan ......................................................................... 46 Kiskatinaw River Watershed Plan Page 3 May 2003 \ 0714.0046.01 5.0 ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT......................................................................................56 5.1 Progress Reports ..................................................................................................... 56 5.2 Annual Meetings...................................................................................................... 56 5.3 Revising the Plan..................................................................................................... 57 5.4 Public input............................................................................................................. 57 6.0 REFERENCES..........................................................................................................58 Appendices APPENDIX I - STAKEHOLDER MEETING MINUTES................................................................. 59 APPENDIX II - MINERAL ASSESSMENT REPORT.................................................................... 83 APPENDIX III - TURBIDITY DATA........................................................................................ 85 APPENDIX IV – DAWSON CREEK LRMP GUIDELINES............................................................. 87 List of Tables Table 1.4-1: Stakeholders and Tenures in the Watershed – Page 11 Table 2.1-1: Water Licenses for the Kiskatinaw River – Page 14 Table 2.2-1: Number of Days of Recorded Turbidity Greater than 600 NTU – Page 18 Table 2.4-1: Summary of Recently Logged Areas by Sub-Basin – Page 21 Table 2.4-2: Summary of Proposed Forest Development (2001 – 2006)* – Page 24 Table 2.4-3: Summary of Oil and Gas Well Sites – Page 25 Table 2.4-4: Campground and Day Visitors to One Island Lake Park – Page 27 Table 2.5-1: Potential Water Quality Impacts – Page 31 Table 3.1: Desired Future Conditions – Pages 35 & 36 Table 4.1: Resource Use/Concerns and Responsibilities – Pages 38 to 45 Kiskatinaw River Watershed Plan Page 4 May 2003 \ 0714.0046.01 List of Figures Figure 1.1: Kiskatinaw River Water Supply Tributary Area – Page 8 Figure 1.2: Kiskatinaw River IWMP Study Sub-Basins – Page 10 Figure 2.2-1: City of Dawson Creek Water Consumption (1960 - 2021) – Page 16 Figure 2.2-2: Comparison of Measured Turbidity and Flowrate in the Kiskatinaw River – Page 17 Figure 2.3-1: Historical Flows for the Kiskatinaw River at Farmington – Page 20 Figure 2.4-1: Kiskatinaw River Distribution of Private Property – Page 22 Figure 2.4-2: Forestry Activities – Page 23 Figure 2.4-3: Grazing Tenures – Page 26 Figure 2.4-4: Distribution of Oil and Gas Wells and Pipelines – Page 28 Figure 2.4-5: Provincial Parks and Protected Areas – Page 29 Kiskatinaw River Watershed Plan Page 5 May 2003 \ 0714.0046.01 1.0 INTRODUCTION This watershed plan was undertaken by the City of Dawson Creek (City), as a result of the efforts of the Peace River Watershed Council that was able to secure funding from Fisheries Renewal BC. The City of Dawson Creek has recognized the importance of protecting its primary water source, the Kiskatinaw River (Figure 1-1), for short and long-term use. In addition to providing a community water supply, the Kiskatinaw River watershed has timber harvesting, agricultural, oil and gas, wildlife, and recreational values, as well as potential mineral resources. Human impacts and ongoing natural processes create challenges for the protection of the water quality in the Kiskatinaw River. The Kiskatinaw River Watershed Management Plan (Plan) is an update to the Kiskatinaw River Integrated Watershed Management Plan completed in 1991, and complements the Dawson Creek Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) completed in 1999 [Appendix IV]. The goal of the Plan is to establish objectives and policies for protection of the water resource. The focus of the policies and objectives will be to minimize the impact of existing and future activities within the watershed on water quality. Consideration has been given to all resource activities that have an interest in the watershed. Due to the