Creeks are getting some attention in Vernon.
The City of Vernon is partnering with Genome B.C. and the University of Victoria on a research project to identify threats to the health of streams in the community.
“The partnership between Genome B.C. and the city builds on our existing work gathering baseline samples,” said Mark Dowhaniuk, the city’s manager of infrastructure management.
“In addition to the genomic information provided, we will work with experts on stream hydrology and water quality to complete field work, provide context with appropriate metadata and deliver effective monitoring tools.”
The city is interested in improving the quality of water in its local streams and the local beaches around Okanagan Lake. Genome B.C. will use genetic identification of feces and its source (human, dog, livestock, waterfowl or other sources) to determine some of the threats to the health of Vernon’s streams. The results of this study will help the city to better plan land use, storm water management and ultimately develop its water quality efforts.
Dr. Asit Mazumder, a professor in the department of biology at the University of Victoria, will help to identify the bacteria and assess stream health.
This project will not only support work by the City of Vernon, it will also provide a benchmark that will be compared to future data from the same sites to show improvement/deterioration of conditions over time and response to mitigation strategies. The long-term objective is to create a framework that can be shared with other jurisdictions and public health organizations, such as the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
“Genomics will have major utility in future water quality testing,” said Catalina Lopez-Correa, chief scientific officer at Genome B.C.
“Implementation of the tools developed by this project is assured because the City of Vernon is mandated by provincial legislation to work towards improving watershed health and is financially committed to moving forward with strategies that help meet its goals.”
The research project is valued at $99,000 and was funded equally by the city and Genome B.C.