When in Drought

Freshwater is one of British Columbia’s most treasured assets. But the compounding impacts of human development, industry, agriculture and climate change are dramatically altering the province’s water cycles and putting communities at risk.

The summer of 2021 saw the vast majority of B.C. scorched by heatwaves and placed under level four and level five category drought, putting incredible pressure on businesses, homesteads and Indigenous nations — many already facing the devastating impacts of the hundreds of wildfires burning across the province.

The climate is changing fast and B.C.’s watershed management needs to keep up.

This series takes a close look at watersheds across B.C., the threats they face and the people working on the ground to reimagine what it’s going to take to keep the water flowing to communities and ecosystems across the province. When in Drought was made possible by support from Real Estate Foundation of BC, which administers the Healthy Watersheds Initiative, and the BC Freshwater Legacy Initiative, a project of the MakeWay Foundation. As per The Narwhal’s editorial independence policy, no foundation or outside organization has editorial input into our stories.