Section 5.4

Riparian health in Upper Thompson Creek

The riparian health in Upper Thompson Creek may have already been compromised by groundwater depletion. The situation is particularly acute in the Kassel property, which is the farthest upstream property/household in Thompson Creek. According to Paul Kassel, between June 2010 and March 2012 he lost about one tree per month.xx Overall, he has had to remove 14 dead trees, amounting to about 100 cords of wood.yy He now uses the cut wood to warm up his house. He uses one cord per week. In the past two years, he has not needed to buy any wood. Concurrently, Kassel reports poor water quality in his well (Section 7.1). The water has a red color, even though he has three filter systems.