ABSTRACT
An important characteristic of water management institutions is their tendency towards inertia. Experience in managing the water resources of the Fraser River Basin in British Columbia provides an interesting illustration of the role of stress in shaping water planning and policymaking. The Fraser River has a snow-fed regime, featuring low flows during the winter months and high flows in the spring. There is a considerable range between these flows. In 1974 the B.C. Pollution Control Branch initiated a comprehensive investigation of pollution in the Fraser River watershed, focusing principally upon the mainstream and the major tributaries. The Fraser River is navigable from its mouth to Hope, and along sections of the river elsewhere in the basin, Deep-sea ships can navigate from the mouth to Port Mann, a distance of 22 mi from the mouth. In 1948 British Columbia suffered the most disastrous physical event in its history.
