Kamloops mayor urges reduction in water usage

KAMLOOPS THISWEEK

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson has issued a statement urging residents to be proactive and voluntarily reduce their personal and commercial water use as drought conditions worsen in B.C.

The North and South Thompson water basins are currently classified as Level 4 drought severity — meaning adverse impacts are likely — on a scale ranging up to five.

Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, recently briefed provincial mayors and chairs on the provincial drought status.

“We are currently seeing unprecedented levels of drought throughout the province, so I want to encourage all Kamloops residents to do what they can to reduce their water use,” Hamer-Jackson said in a release.

“We all draw from the same water source and there are small things we can all do to make a difference.”

The province is anticipating a serious drought season that has begun earlier than usual.

According to the provincial government’s drought information portal, as of July 18, the Thompson River at Kamloops is flowing at a depth of 3.53 metres, compared to the normal level of 3.65 metres.

Upstream, the North Thompson at McLure is flowing at a depth of 1.68 metres, compared to the normal level of 2.83 metres. The South Thompson River at Chase is flowing at a depth of 2.53 metres, compared to the normal level of 4.29 metres.

Advice From City Hall

The City of Kamloops has a number of water conservation tips to implement both indoors and outdoors.

Indoors, residents are advised to keep their showers to five minutes or less, only run dishwashers or washing machines when full and turn off the tap while brushing teeth.

They should also fix any leaks on running taps and toilets and keep a jug of water in the fridge instead of running the tap.

Outdoors, people should water their lawns sparingly, use a broom instead of a hose to clean surfaces, use rain barrels to collect water for outdoor gardening use, choose drought-tolerant plants and check faucets and hoses for leaks.

The City of Kamloops said its drought response team has been meeting regularly and has reduced the municipality’s overall water use for irrigation by 25 per cent. For more tips on how to conserve water, go online to kamloops.ca/watersmart.

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