Peace – Defining a New Approach to Agricultural Land Use Inventory in the BC Peace [pc04]
| Region | Peace |
| Status | completed in 2017 |
| Project Lead | Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC |
| Funding Partners | Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, BC Ministry of Agriculture, Peace River Regional District |
The Peace Adaptation Strategies identifies the need to complete Agricultural Water Demand Modeling in the BC Peace region in order to plan effectively for agricultural water supply and access. This background information is not only needed for agricultural water management, but also for regional level decision-making that involves all water users. By improving understanding of demand, as well as potential for water storage and supply sources, priorities for agricultural water development may be identified.
A traditional Agricultural Land Use Inventory (ALUI), generally completed by the BC Ministry of Agriculture and partners, is a pre-cursor to Agricultural Water Demand Modeling. The ALUI typically relies on a “windshield survey” to collect detailed spatial information on land cover including crop types, irrigation systems, land use, livestock, agricultural practices, and water features. Due to the unique and extensive nature of the Peace, a new approach to the traditional ALUI is required.
This project will assess data needs, assess existing data available, scope methodologies, and evaluate new approaches to data collection for an ALUI. The project will also assess the end uses of ALUI and AWDM data for the Peace Region. This project will also identify additional data requirements and associated costs for the Agriculture Water Demand Model (AWDM) such as soils data and climate data.
The project will result in a detailed project plan for an Agricultural Land Use Inventory and Agricultural Water Demand Model on agricultural lands in the Peace River Regional District. This plan will include cost / benefit assumptions of carrying out an ALUI and an AWDM.