The BC River Forecast Centre continues to list the Coldwater River at the most extreme drought level.

With little to no wet weather in the forecast, the situation is unlikely to improve any time soon. Section Head Dave Campbell says as we get later into the summer, the situation could get fairly significant when it comes to the fish population. “The kind of flows we’re at, we’re definitely anticipating that we’re really starting to hit up into some of those thresholds. So, we’d be concerned about things like the low water level and what that might mean for habitat for fish and where fish can hide, particularly the smaller fish. As well as the temperatures that can be associated with the lower flows.”

Campbell says “as we get later into the summer there could be concerns about the amount of water that is available for spawning salmon as they come up-stream. So certainly the impacts can be fairly significant as it pertains to the fish population.”

In response to the level four rating, the City of Merritt has implemented lawn watering restrictions to help conserve water. Residents can only water their lawn one day per week. Residents with odd numbered addresses are permitted to water on Tuesday, and residents with even numbered addresses are permitted to water on Friday. Watering is not allowed on any other day of the week. These restrictions will continue until further notice.

Campbell says this is a bit of an isolated situation right now. “In some ways, the Coldwater is a bit of an anomalous pocket. It’s been a little bit dryer there. But when we see areas to the east and to the Okanagan and Kamloops area it has not been quite as dry. And even through July there has been quite a lot of rain and even some flooding up in the Caribou area.” He says there was fairly heavy rain across the province over the weekend and that has brought up a lot of tributary flows in the Kamloops area.