Some Okanagan cities in drought are already restricting water use

A dry winter has some municipalities around the Okanagan already putting in water restrictions in response to drought conditions.

The Districts of Peachland and Summerland are both on level three water restrictions with Summerland expecting to increase its drought level in the summer.

“The restriction to once-a-week watering is necessary due to ongoing drought conditions and lower-than-optimal levels of upland lakes that feed Peachland’s reservoirs,” the district said in a press release.

The Town of Osoyoos is going into stage two restrictions on May 1, and it has already been dealing with low lake levels. The town had to close its Desert Sunrise Marina boat launch but it was reopened on Monday, April 20.

West Kelowna is on stage two restrictions but Kelowna is still on its normal year-round restrictions.

Kamloops and Vernon are still in normal water restrictions, and Penticton is going to go into its regular water restrictions on May 1.

The province as a whole has a healthy amount of snowpack, 92 per cent of normal, but the Lower Thompson is at 51 per cent of normal while the Okanagan is at 58 per cent of normal snowpack.

Okanagan Basin Water Board’s water science specialist Sandra Schira said drought conditions and water restrictions are different in each municipality so it’s important for people to find out what their local drought scale means.

“Unfortunately, at this time, it’s not standardized across the valley what different drought stages mean. And so what that means in Kelowna might be different than in Penticton,” Schira told iNFOnews.ca. “What’s really important is for people to be aware of what their local water supplier is doing.”

People who are worried about increasing drought conditions can always plan ahead.

“It can be quite helpful to start thinking, as we’re heading into the summer, what you can do to reduce water use,” she said.

“What plants you can start planting, that can make a really big difference for a lot of people if their primary use is going to be through their yard and their garden.”