West Kelowna water abusers face fines before cutoff

WEST KELOWNA – Water wasters in West Kelowna will soon face a range of fines instead of the only penalty the city now has at its disposal for people who ignore regulations — cutting your water off completely.

“Our primary movitation for this is to give us more options. Cutting off their water was all that could be done before. That’s a bit extreme leaving someone without water in their home. It’s too important for daily living,” Mayor Doug Findlater says.

Instead, the new outdoor use water bylaw will provide for a range of fines for an array of offences that get progressively tougher as the stages increase.

A homeowner who waters on the wrong day during stage one restrictions could face a $25 fine while a person who commits multiple violations during stage four restrictions could pay as much as $500 per day.

Findlater says he’s spoken with more people who see the value in increased water use regulation than those who think otherwise.

“I think the culture is changing here. People are worried about the water supply. Even though we’re in pretty good shape this year, if we get a series of low snowpacks in future years, it will be a different story.”

The Okanagan region is on a level four drought advisory and the province has asked water providers to voluntarily cut consumption by 30 per cent.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.