Forecasting spring freshet events in the Kiskatinaw River basin, British Columbia

Incorporating climate information into hydrologic streamflow forecasts has allowed for significant advancement in the ability to predict seasonal streamflow. The City of Dawson Creek (CDC), BC, has depended on the Kiskatinaw River (KR) as its sole source of municipal water for over 60 years. Hydro-meteorological changes in the KR along with increasing population and growing industry have put stress on the CDC water supply. In this study regional surface climate observations aggregated over the winter accumulation period (15 November–25 March) integrated with global circulation indices were input into a series of regression models providing spring runoff predictions in the KR. The surface climate observations, indices of global circulation and snow cover provided good predictability of both cumulative streamflow timing and volume in the KR. This study provides the CDC with a tool for better informed releases and withdrawals from the KR during the spring freshet.