Water-Scarcity Levels Set To High Across The Okanagan Watershed

MEDIA RELEASE | August 12, 2026

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Okanagan Nation Territory: The Syilx Okanagan Nation is calling for immediate water conservation and coordinated action following the setting of HIGH water-scarcity levels across all five assessed areas of the Okanagan watershed. The levels were jointly established by the Syilx Okanagan Nation and the Province of British Columbia and reflect serious limitations in the water available to support environmental, cultural, agricultural, drinking water and other community needs, including wildfire response.

Large wildfires continue to affect Syilx Territory and communities across the Okanagan. These fires are a direct result of prolonged hot and dry conditions and place further pressure on already scarce water supplies. This is not a year for business as usual.

kɬúsx̌nítkʷ — Okanagan Lake is at its lowest level on record for this time of year and continues to decline, an important reminder that the size of the lake does not mean water is abundant. The lake is connected to the streams, groundwater and ecosystems throughout the watershed, and its condition also reflects the cumulative effects of prolonged dry conditions across the system.

For the first time, the Syilx Okanagan Nation and the Province have jointly established water-scarcity levels through a shared framework developed by the nx̌ʷʔulaʔxʷ Management Committee. Using Syilx knowledge, western science and local watershed information, the framework assesses whether enough water is available to support ecological, cultural and community needs. Unlike drought, which describes climate conditions, water scarcity considers the availability of water to meet those needs.

The current HIGH designation signals the need for immediate conservation and coordinated action. The nx̌ʷʔulaʔxʷ Management Committee urges governments, water managers, water suppliers, licence holders, businesses, agricultural producers and all water users to:

• Reduce water use wherever possible.
• Protect flows needed to sustain salmon, fish, aquatic ecosystems and tmix^w— all living beings.
• Share information and coordinate actions across jurisdictions.
• Plan and act with a one-watershed perspective—from the headwaters to the valley bottom.

Setting water-scarcity levels supports a shared understanding of watershed conditions and more coordinated decisions to protect siwɬkʷ for present and future generations. Work is also underway to establish water-scarcity levels for the Similkameen watershed.

For more information about siwɬkʷ, water scarcity and drought, visit the Province of British Columbia’s Drought Portal and the Okanagan Nation Alliance website.

nx̌ʷʔulaʔxʷ translates to “the land has dried.”