By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle

Two letters of support have been issued by the RDOS for grant applications that will boost the health of waterways in the South Okanagan.

Drafted letters were presented to the RDOS’s Board Meeting on February 19, as two separate profiles. The first draft letter of support was for the Okanagan Basin Water Board’s (OBWB) application to the Canada Water Agency’s EcoAction Stream 2 funding channel, dubbed the Freshwater Sustainability & Innovation Program.

The second draft letter supported the Okanagan River Restoration River Initiative (ORRI), with an application by the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) to the OBWB’s Water Conservation & Quality Improvement grant stream.

Development of a new rapid detection tool is in the works by the OBWB, in collaboration with UBC Okanagan, that would help spot invasive zebra and quagga mussels faster than existing methods. The tool would be used primarily during watercraft inspections, as well as general quality monitoring of the lakes in the Okanagan.

Faster detection of invasive mussels helps prevent, on a grander scale, the impacts of their rooting in lakes and waterways. Many impacts can be felt by mussels rooting in the waterways, including on watercraft, irrigation sources, and even drinking water infrastructure.

The project that has been working to develop this tool has also included research from Queen’s University , as well as UC Davis in California. The specifications of the project, while geared towards the Okanagan, are being designed with compatibility in other regions of Canada in mind.

For the ORRI, the focus is on protecting at-risk fish and wildlife species around the Okanagan River, among other restoration actions. The letter cited Chinook Salmon and Rocky Mountain Ridged Mussel as examples of species within the river that are at-risk.

Collaborating with the ONA to support the ORRI and the actions to improve the health of the Okanagan River are the RDOS, as well as the Osoyoos Indian Band and the Penticton Indian Band. This application supports the next phase of river restoration construction around Okanagan Falls.

Both draft letters presented at the RDOS meeting were carried without any additional discussion.