Ground Water Resources of British Columbia
Chapter 10 — Ground Water Resources of the Plateaus and Highlands Ground Water Regions
10.1.4 OKANAGAN HIGHLAND
by
E. Livingston
This is the upland area bounded on the west by the Okanagan Valley, on the north by the Coldstream Valley, on the east by the Kettle River and on the south by the U.S. Boundary. The area is at an average elevation about 1350 m with little relief on the upland surface except for a few major mountains like Big White and Little White southeast of Kelowna. The main drainage was altered by glaciation and ice tongues advanced down the major valleys. The minor drainage on the upland surface was almost completely disrupted by glaciation. It is still at a very youthful stage with many small ponds, swamps and lakes. The drainage has been modified further by construction of small dams to store irrigation water in the major drainage systems. Precipitation is much higher than in the Okanagan Valley or in the valleys to the north and east. It is the recharge area for large ground water flow systems which discharge in the main valleys.
Little is known about ground water resources as there has been no demand, and consequently no exploration for ground water in the upland area. Much of the area is probably underlain by sandy, silty mountain-type till resting on rock. Locally, there may be aquifers under the till, especially in old buried drainage channels. There may also be ground water in areas underlain by outwash gravel and such glacial features as eskers. It will really not be possible to even speculate about the ground water resources of the area until more work is done.
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