The Natural Environment of a Population Catchment

The strengthening of rural community resilience is the focus of this book. The population catchment of a rural community sits within a natural catchment. This natural catchment includes the ecosystems that support not only the humans who live in the catchment but also the surrounding life. A major part of the transformation going forward is reengaging with nature and living with the natural ecosystems upon which we depend. The data we need include an understanding of the forest cover, the arable land, the growing season, and optimal crops for the climatic zone of the community. We need to understand the watershed and the seasonal flows and consider the biodiversity of the area in which we live and any species at risk. The history of environmental hazards of the catchment needs to be understood in order to form accurate risk management strategies for the communities’ climate adaptation and mitigation. Finally, industrial activity is both an important risk and potential benefit for a rural community and needs to be optimized to support community sustainability within a broad ecosystem based analysis. The provincial government and some of the health authorities have made innovative steps to address the need for new and more accessible data. ClimateReadyBC is an example of an initiative that is designed to learn lessons from past emergencies, address disaster and climate risk build capacity and resilience to face current challenges, and prepare BC communities to mitigate risk from future disasters.²⁰

Data surrounding food security and water quality are particularly pertinent when considering the effects of climate change and ecosystem disruption. Being able to accurately determine where, when, and how food and water are being produced and utilized by a rural community can help to assess vulnerabilities and areas for quality improvement.

Food Security

Food security in rural catchments needs to be optimized within a comprehensive plan that minimizes waste, optimizes local food sourcing, and supports vulnerable populations. A study conducted by the Government of Canada in 2021 has identified a need for increased focus on “measuring and monitoring food insecurity within vulnerable populations including rural and remote communities”.²¹ Food security can be enhanced with the use of crop type mapping. Maps of crop type can serve the purpose of “forecasting grain supplies (yield prediction), collecting crop production statistics, facilitating crop rotation records, mapping soil productivity, identification of factors influencing crop stress, assessment of crop damage due to storms and drought, and monitoring farming activity”.²² In BC especially, where food production varies heavily by region, this means of collecting information is an efficient way of identifying region-specific challenges and agricultural best practices. In the context of global challenges, such as climate change, the monitoring of agricultural systems is becoming an increasingly important task.²³

Local food management can provide positive economic, social, and environmental effects and significantly reduce the carbon footprint generated by feeding the community. Local innovation can harness rural volunteer spirit and contribute to programs to feed the vulnerable and diminish wastage. For example, Kimberly, BC has created the Healthy Kimberley Program that has had remarkable success in feeding the vulnerable citizens of the community and Squamish-Lilloet leadership has inventoried food production in the region and created a Food Assets map that is a model for other communities.²⁴

Quality of Water

As one of the most water-rich countries in the world, Canada still experiences fresh water scarcity most commonly in remote and largely First Nations communities.²⁵ Drinking water advisories alert communities when drinking water is unsafe. These advisories are informed by water quality, which refers to water’s physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.²⁶ The assessment and monitoring of water quality enables the timely detection of environmental issues that may arise from the increase of pollutants resulting from anthropogenic activities.²⁷ In BC, water quality is systematically monitored through the collection of water samples from 48 stations every two to four weeks.²⁸ Data on water quality is then used to:

• track current water quality conditions of rivers;
• track if those conditions are changing over time;
• detect emerging issues that may threaten aquatic life;
• support the development of evidence-based guidelines for water, fish, and sediment;
• track the results of remedial measures and regulatory decisions; and,
• further, improve the network using a risk-based adaptive management approach

Drinking water advisories are issued if water samples detect various contaminants, such as E. coli. In BC, Health Authorities typically announce these water advisories. For instance, the Northern Health Authority has a webpage that lists active advisories and the specific types of water advisories. Different types of water advisories include water quality advisories, boil water notices, and do not consume or use notices. When there is a ‘do not use’ advisory issued, residents cannot use the water for anything as any contact with the known microbial, chemical, or radiological contaminants can be dangerous to the skin, lungs, or eyes.²⁹ Moreover, regional Health Authorities in BC are not responsible for issuing advisories for First Nations Communities. Instead, the First Nations Health Authority produces a monthly summary for the Drinking Water Advisories in BC. However, these summaries are not intended for public health messaging, and obtaining up-to-date information on drinking water is carried out by local First Nations Chiefs and Council members.³⁰ In contrast, the Interior Health Authority displays data on water advisories using GIS and has developed an interactive online map that pulls data from the Health Authority’s internal database system and data from water suppliers in the region to be represented in real-time.³¹

Furthermore, the conventional approach to monitoring water quality requires personnel to take readings from specific instruments to record data and document it, which is time-consuming and costly.³² Environmental engineering researchers are now seeking more innovative techniques for real-time monitoring and the assessing of water quality. They argue that the health and well-being of individuals are significantly impacted by water contamination and real-time supervisory systems can identify potential contamination situations early on, leading to improved public health.³³ These intelligent systems can notify relevant authorities or personnel of potential hazards, such as high-water levels which can predict impending flooding.³⁴ As water quality becomes threatened by more frequent and intense flooding events, having reliable and accessible data is becoming increasingly crucial for the health and safety of people and wildlife.