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Drought 2015
Province treads lightly enforcing drought rules
OKANAGAN – The province has added to the regions under a level four drought advisory,…
Armstrong moves to elevated watering restrictions
ARMSTRONG - Armstrong residents are being told to cut back on water use. The city has implemented stage two water restrictions, which means residents can’t use sprinklers or irrigation systems to water lawns, gardens trees or shrubs. Washing driveways, sidewalks, parking lots or exterior building surfaces is also banned, according to a notice on the...
Drought levels worsen in Okanagan and North Thompson
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Drought conditions are worsening in the region, enough according to the government to increase the drought rating for both the Okanagan and North Thompson regions by one level. The Okanagan Region is now enduring level four drought conditions while the North Thompson is facing level three, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources....
Province pulls plug on Coldwater River water use
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - In a bid to help struggling salmon populations, water use reduction measures have been imposed on the Coldwater River. The province issued the restriction today, July 31, banning all water use or diversion from the Coldwater River and its tributaries from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. effective immediately. The restriction escalates to a...
Kelowna water utility finally adopts watering restrictions
KELOWNA - There is still no compelling reason to introduce watering restrictions but the City of Kelowna water utility is doing it anyway. “It’s based on supporting the provincial drought response, it's political, there is no technical reason,” Adrian Weaden says. The water quality supervisor says the decision was made this week to heed the...
Fishing suspended along Middle Shuswap River
VERNON - Another body of water has been closed to fishing due to ongoing drought conditions in Southern B.C. Warm water temperatures and a low flow rate are two reasons why the provincial and federal governments decided to suspend angling in Middle Shuswap River from Mabel Lake to Shuswap Falls. The suspension will last from...
Drought level increased in South Thompson, three other areas of southern interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Extremely dry conditions and low stream flows have forced the province to raise the drought level in four areas of the southern Interior today. A Level 4 drought rating has been announced for the South Thompson, Similkameen, Kettle and Skagit areas, July 27. Further declines in stream, lake and aquifer levels could lead...
If floating the river in Enderby is on your summer bucket list, do it sooner than later
ENDERBY - Extremely low water levels could cut the summer tubing season short on the Shuswap River in Enderby. Madison Giesbrecht, program manager for the Shuswap River Ambassadors program, which monitors river conditions and provides information to user groups, says river levels are about a month ahead of schedule, and particularly low at that. “We...
South Okanagan governments make a plea for voluntary cuts in water consumption
PENTICTON - There are concerns about water supply as the summer’s hot weather combines with minimal rainfall in the South Okanagan. The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District recently followed the City of Penticton’s move, made last week, to ask residents to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 30 per cent. The regional district was responding to the...
Kelowna water providers in no hurry to comply with voluntary water cuts
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Kelowna’s five water providers will decide next week whether to comply with a request from the provincial government to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 30 per cent. Darwyn Kutney, general manager of the Glenmore Ellison Irrigation District, says the Kelowna Joint Water Committee will meet July 30 to discuss the request. “I...
Extreme drought results in fishing bans for Nicola rivers
SALMON RUN AT RISK THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An extreme drought rating has been issued for the Nicola region, resulting in fishing restrictions and a request for residents to conserve water. Staff from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources say extreme dry conditions and warming water temperatures calls for a fishing suspension on the Nicola...
Kelowna water utility may soon be forced to restrict use
KELOWNA - As drought-like conditions persist throughout the province people are being asked to cut back on water use, which means water restrictions could be around the corner for Kelowna water utility customers, who have not yet faced restrictions this summer. The province has declared a level three drought in the Okanagan and is sending...
No fishing in several South Okanagan rivers and streams this summer
PENTICTON – Fans of fishing across the province will be disappointed to learn that as of July 15 they will no longer be permitted to fish many rivers and streams in the South Okanagan this summer due to low flows and warming water temperatures. For the rest of the summer all streams and rivers in...
Heat wave could force water restrictions in Summerland
SUMMERLAND – If the heat wave resumes the Summerland Treatment Plant could be forced to issue measures to reduce water use in the area. Due to increased demands the Summerland Water Treatment Plant has been operating at maximum capacity the last week, according to a media release issued today, June 29. If the demand rises...
No elevated Okanagan watering restrictions — yet
OKANAGAN - Despite record-breaking heat and little rain in the forecast, Okanagan communities remain under normal, or phase 1, watering restrictions, but be warned — that could change. Water utilities are keeping a close eye on supply, demand and weather predictions for the summer, but haven’t yet been forced to elevate restrictions. Kelowna’s five water...
West Kelowna water supply vulnerable if drought continues
WEST KELOWNA - If you were able to visit West Kelowna’s Rose Valley reservoir right now, you would find it full, water lapping right to the edges of the man-made storage water facility. However, if you were to judge the district’s water health as normal by that same measure, you would be wrong as the...
Valley mayors push for early start to water conservation
OKANAGAN - Mindful of the dry winter the Okanagan has just experienced, valley mayors and councillors joined the Okanagan Basin Water Board for an early launch of the Make Water Work conservation campaign today. Mayor Doug Findlater, who chairs the water board, used his own community of West Kelowna as an example of why the...
Hard lessons from California drought to be learned in the Okanagan
KELOWNA - With snowpack levels on the west side of Okanagan Lake at extremely low levels coupled with the dry winter the valley has just experienced, a comparison with drought-stricken California and the measures they must now take to avoid catastrophe is perhaps inevitable. “People say jokingly the best planning is done in advance… what...