DamNation – Screening and Panel Discussion

JOIN US as we prepare to celebrate UN World Water Day! The Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB)’s Okanagan WaterWise invites you to a special ONLINE screening of the acclaimed film DamNation, followed by a panel discussion.NOTE: This event will be held Tues. March 21 (ahead of UN World Water Day, celebrated on March 22).DamNation is a powerful film, with bold, beautiful imagery, exploring the change in attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our waterways.The themes in the documentary are especially moving and current as the Okanagan Basin Water Board and partners begin the work of modernizing the Okanagan Lake Regulation System (OLRS). This process, expected to take about seven years, will look at how lake levels are managed to address climate change impacts – including flooding and drought, fish management, agriculture needs, and more.Join us as we hear from Okanagan Nation Alliance fisheries biologist Dawn Machin about Okanagan River restoration work that has been done in the valley bottom, the benefits, the challenges, and what future work is planned. A Syilx Okanagan nation member (TBA) on the importance of traditional Indigenous knowledge in helping inform the OLRS review, as well as the significance of upper watershed wetlands (e.g. for the mountain beaver and water health) will also be discussed. Hear from Black Mountain Irrigation District Administrator Bob Hrasko regarding dams and upland reservoirs in the Okanagan – what works and what doesn’t, or needs improvement. And, hear from OBWB Executive Director Anna Warwick Sears about the OLRS and opportunities to participate as the process moves forward.This is a FREE event, but the number of Zoom connections are limited. If you are sharing a screen with others, only one registration is needed for your group. Registrants will be sent a confirmation email.Stay tuned for more details in the days ahead. We will also send a reminder email the day before the event with details on how to zoom in!