Province mulls water restrictions in face of drought

SEAN BRADY STAFF REPORTER sbrady@kamloopsthisweek.com

The provincial government is asking B.C. residents and businesses to limit their water usage due to widespread and early drought conditions.

Bowinn Ma, the province’s minister of emergency management and climate readiness, said it’s not uncommon for B.C. to see drought, but this year, because of how early and how widespread drought conditions are, there is reason for concern.

Ma said if B.C. residents and businesses

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don’t voluntarily reduce their water usage, the province may take action.

“We are currently encouraging voluntary reductions at this time, but regulatory actions may be introduced if necessary,” she said.

B.C. reports six levels of drought, from Level 0, where adverse socio-economic or ecosystem impacts are rare, to Level 5, where adverse impacts are likely.

At last update, four of B.C.’s 34 water basins are reporting Level 5 drought conditions, while 18 of 34 basins — including the local area — are at Level 4.

“These conditions require action from everyone in B.C.,” Ma said.

Another update in drought levels will come on Thursday, July 20.

Dave Campbell of the River Forecast Centre said he is not expecting many significant changes to the current drought codes, except an increase in some areas of the north, where stream flows have further deteriorated.

Ma said everyone in B.C. should be following water restrictions set out by local authorities.

In Kamloops, current restrictions are based on irrigation and sprinkling.

“Think about small changes in your daily routine. Water lawns sparingly, if at all. Take shorter showers. That can save 19 litres of water per minute,” Ma said.

Current conditions are the result of what happened one year ago.

Jonathan Boyd of the B.C. River Forecast Centre described the situation as a “cumulative impact” drought.

He said the spring of 2022 was relatively cool and wet, delaying that freshet season. Cumulative precipitation since then has measured between 40 and 85 per cent of normal around the province, he said.

The situation worsened this past May, when temperatures between 9 C and 10 C above normal resulted in the earliest snowpack melt ever seen in B.C.

That is now evident in measured stream flows across B.C.

“As of July 10, 81 stations across the province were at their all-time record low. That’s about a quarter of the stations,” Boyd said.

Precipitation thus far in Kamloops has been far below normal.

For June, a month for which the amount of precipitation is seen as an indicator of the severity of the wildfire season, Kamloops received less than one-third of its normal precipitation.

The city typically sees 37.4 millimetres of rainfall in June, but last month just 11 millimetres of rain was recorded across four days.

Fires in the north have prompted the province to call for federal aid and this week, as 150 members of the Canadian Armed Forces will arrive in Vanderhoof and Burns Lake.

Boyd said Environment Canada’s seasonal forecast is calling for above-normal temperatures for August and September, but in the short term, he said it is difficult to accurately predict more than seven to 10 days ahead.

“There is no way to know for sure. The biggest fear would be if we had dry conditions moving into September and October. Only time will tell, but if that were to happen, we could end up in a pretty significant drought at a time when flows are lowest,” he said.

The drought and wildfires have put farmers and ranchers in a particularly tough spot, prompting B.C. Agriculture Minister Pam Alexis to ask the federal government for help.

“This is not an easy time to be a farmer. With fires, floods, drought, extreme heat and extreme cold, animal diseases and a pandemic all within the last three years,” Alexis said. “Their well being is a priority to me and if anyone is in need of mental-health supports, please let us know.”