A former Kamloops City Councillor says he was hoping the City would have done more to help farmers navigate the premature shutdown of the Noble Creek Irrigation System.

Speaking on the NL Noon Report, Dieter Dudy, who runs Thistle Farm, says he feels there’s been a lack of leadership not just from city councillors, but city staff as well.

“The City [staff] could be going to [council] and saying, ‘look, ‘we’ve taken a look at what’s going on out there. People are being seriously impacted. I think you guys should give us some direction. Let’s move forward’ but I don’t think that is happening,” Dudy said.

“I think they’re saying, ‘oh, well, council hasn’t spoken to us, so I guess we can’t do anything.’ I don’t mean to be denigrating that way, but seriously, it almost looks as if they’re throwing their hands up in the air and saying, ‘oh, well, we tried our best guys. Hang in there.'”

While the City of Kamloops announced plans to decommission the irrigation system after the growing season in September, users of the system were warned that drought conditions could lead to a premature shutdown.

“[Council has] called special meetings before, why would this not be considered?” Dudy wondered. “I think this is an emergency as far as I’m concerned. I mean this is affecting our food security system. This is affecting employment within the area. I mean, if it comes to the point where I no longer have product, then I no longer have people to employ.”

“My way of thinking is if council wants to do something about this, then perhaps they should get together and have that discussion.”

The City’s Utility Services Manager, Greg Wightman, told Radio NL that river levels in the North Thompson would need to rise again before the Noble Creek Irrigation system can be reactivated.

Speaking on the NL Noon Report, Wightman said City staff are trying to figure out what options might be viable, noting they currently don’t have any direction to operate the irrigation system outside of the established service levels.

“So that has been communicated to customers and they were certainly aware that if it did drop below this level, then the system would not be operating,” Wightman said.

“It is a really challenging and complex situation right now as far as how to get water to these people that need it when we don’t have a system that is able to provide it.”

Wightman says its not the first year that the Noble Creek Irrigation system has run out of water, though it happened earlier this year, owing to the extreme drought conditions across the province.

“As of last Thursday, the river level dropped to a point where the Noble Creek Irrigation system was going into alarm. There essentially wasn’t enough supply to meet demand, and unfortunately right now, we’re just at the mercy of Mother Nature,” Wightman added.

“We need some rain, and we need that river level to rise again to a point where we can reactivate the system.”

Earlier this year, the City also released details about its $3.2 million decommissioning program which will offer existing users of the Noble Creek Irrigation System money to help them find new sources of water. Those new sources could include drawing water directly from the North Thompson River or through drilling underground wells.

There are 41 total customers who use the Noble Creek Irrigation System, including small-scale farmers like Dudy and the Privato winery. Users of the system have formed the Noble Creek Irrigation Society that aims to “find a sustainable and long-term solution to keeping irrigation in the Noble Creek area.”

They’ve also launched a petition decrying the city’s decision to decommission the irrigation system, saying it generates around $6.5 million in economic impact each year.

Dudy says he had to borrow a truck with tanks from a friend who runs a tree business in the Quesnel-area to ensure that his crops have water for the rest of the growing season.

“This is the problem. We’re busy people out here too, so to take on this new task [of looking for any applying for grants that will help cover the costs of finding a new source of water] on top of everything else that we’re doing is not simple,” Dudy said.

“I’m not expecting the city to do my administrative work for me, but by the same token, if you’re going to shut us down, maybe help us transition properly.”

– With files from Paul James