A new set of watering restrictions are now in-place in the City of Kamloops as of today, August 14.
Under the new restrictions, outdoor lawn watering with a sprinkler is no longer allowed, but a spring-loaded nozzle is still good.
Commercial pressure and personal vehicle washing are also off-the-table.
Utilities Services Manager, Greg Wightman, says while City staff are reducing the city’s watering of so-called passive areas, he says they will still be watering the sports fields.
“If we were to completely eliminate irrigation, based on the wear and tear that those fields get, we would have to shut down all bookings on those fields,” Wightman said. “We’re certainly hoping we don’t have to get there.”
“If there was any change to the current kind of just general 25 per cent reduction of irrigation on playing fields, then we would have to shut down all bookings essentially blocking those fields off so nobody could be on them.”
Photo via City of Kamloops
Wightman says people will be able to monitor water use in Kamloops, using a new drought page on the City’s website. It will provide weekly updates on the amount of water being used in Kamloops.
“The honest answer is we don’t know how effective these restrictions are going to be because we’ve never had anything in place like this before,” Wightman said, when asked if the new restrictions will be enough to reduce water use.
“We’re never been faced with a situation as drastic as we are this year.”
It is not just Kamloops that is facing severe drought this summer. Data from the B.C. River Forecast Centre shows 28 of the province’s 34 water basins at either drought level 4 or 5 – the second-highest and highest levels on the six-level scale.
Both the North and South Thompson Rivers have been at Drought Level 5 since August 3.
“The reason for the delay between announcing the restrictions and enforcing them is to give people a chance to adjust their sprinkler systems including those who may be away for the long weekend,” Wightman told Radio NL earlier this month when restrictions were first announced.
“I know that may seem strange without that context, but that was the rationale.”
He says the purpose of these new “extreme” restrictions is to ensure there is capacity in the City’s reservoirs to support emergency fire suppression efforts, if needed like during the Juniper Ridge fire on Canada Day in 2021.
In a bid to ensure that water isn’t wasted, Kamloops Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc urged residents to not install rooftop sprinklers on their homes.
As for why people might see city sprinklers being used on public lands during a time of water restrictions, the City’s drought response page says “many parks and playing fields are too large to be irrigated within the regulated sprinkling times.”
“Wherever possible, City property is watered according to the restrictions,” the City said.
“Kamloops’ larger parks are controlled by a computerized irrigation system that reads weather conditions, calculates evapotranspiration rates, and irrigates when soil moisture indicates the need, rather than by a pre-set schedule. It is estimated that this system has resulted in savings of 30 per cent.”
It is also asking residents to report any misaligned and broken sprinkler heads as well as other issues with City irrigation to the Civic Operations Department at 250-828-3461 or use the MyKamloops app.
All Kamloops water parks will also continue to be operational as the City says it “has a responsibility” to provide heat relief options in outdoor locations.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District is also urging users of its 11 Community Water Systems to voluntarily reduce the amount of water they consume because of the current drought conditions in the area.
– With files from Paul James
