Officials celebrate recovery of crucial water supply as summer looms: 'Levels are high because of proactive management decisions'

Despite lower-than-average precipitation for the year, the water at the iconic Osoyoos Lake was at higher-than-typical levels entering the summer dry season.

As Castanet reported, the seeming contradiction at the lake — which straddles the border of British Columbia, Canada, and Washington in the U.S. — highlighted the importance of good water-management practices.

"Water managers are closely monitoring conditions in the basin and will keep the public informed of management decisions impacting Osoyoos Lake levels," the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control said in its spring update.

Though Osoyoos Lake sat below average levels for much of the winter, by spring, water levels were higher than usual, per the Board of Control. Water managers achieved the high water levels despite both rainfall and snowpack being significantly below average.

"Levels are beginning to rise as the lake operator targets summer operational levels to ensure sufficient water for both irrigation and ecological flow needs," said the Board of Control.

Osoyoos Lake is part of the massive Columbia River Basin. The International Joint Commission, which was created by the U.S. and Canada to manage water-related issues along the U.S.-Canada border, governs these waterways, according to the IJC website.

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In 1946, the IJC formed the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control to manage the operations of the Zosel Dam in accordance with IJC directives. Zosel Dam, which sits downriver from Lake Osoyoos, controls the lake's water levels.

In its spring update, the Board of Control emphasized that high water levels were the result of water-management practices, not an indication that the drought-like conditions of the past several years have let up.

"Levels are high because of proactive management decisions, not because there is more water in the Okanagan Basin," said the IOLBC.

In essence, water managers have been conserving water in preparation for a hot, dry summer, practices that follow IJC directives. Water managers must balance competing interests, from human uses like agriculture to the health of ecosystems.

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As fresh water becomes more scarce on a warming planet, water-management practices will become increasingly essential, ensuring that there is enough of this precious resource to go around.

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