Nechako River Basin project launched by UNBC researchers receive another $800,000 in funding

UNBC researchers have secured funding to launch the fourth phase of a major research project examining the Nechako River Basin.

The university’s Integrated Watershed Research Group (IWRG) secured $400,000 from the Nechako Environmental Enhancement Fund (NEEF) and an additional $400,000 in matching funds from other agencies to continue their interdisciplinary work.

“UNBC research is strongest when it moves beyond the walls of a lab and into conversation with the people affected by it,” says UNBC Interim President Dr. Bill Owen. “The more UNBC researchers stay connected to this watershed, the better positioned people are to navigate whatever comes next. That’s the value of campus to community work.”

This phase of the project is focused on the impacts of the proposed NeToo Hydropower Project at the site of the existing Kenney Dam.
The project is organized around four concepts:

• Mapping solar radiation in the Nechako Canyon led by Rio Tinto Research Chair in Climate Change and Water Security Dr. Stephen Déry;
• Characterizing the geomorphology and sedimentology of the river valley between Kenney Dam and Cheslatta Falls led by Forest Renewal BC Endowed Research Chair Dr. Phil Owens;
• Studying the effects of potential water release strategies on Chinook salmon led by Rio Tinto Research Chair in Climate Change and Freshwater Fish Ecology Dr. Eduardo Martins;
• Exploring water and sanitation entrepreneurship for thriving local economies in the Nechako Watershed led by Engineering Assistant Professor Dr. June Garcia-Becerra.

“The theme of this phase of the project focuses on restoration of the Nechako Canyon and preparing for the future wetting of the dry riverbed,” Martins explains. “The overarching goal of the research is to collect baseline data and information on the Nechako Canyon for integrative responses to climate, water and community connections in the Nechako Watershed.”

Over the next two years, researchers will focus on the Nechako Canyon, located between Cheslatta Falls and the Kenney Dam.

They will examine how the hydro project could shape the river’s water, fish and sediment, as well as the impacts on local communities.

“Water stewardship is strongest when it reflects local knowledge, priorities and lived experience,” says Garcia-Becerra. “This project aims to support conversations about water-related opportunities that can strengthen resilience, respond to climate-related challenges and build on the strengths that already exist across the Nechako watershed.”

Partners include the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, Nulki-Tachick Lakes Stewardship Society, Yinka Dene (Nechako First Nations), Nechako Environment and Water Stewardship Society and Nechako Watershed Roundtable.

The project also includes other UNBC researchers, researchers from the University of British Columbia and BC Hydro.