Drip irrigation permitted in City of Kamloops as drought persists

KAMLOOPS — On August 14, the City of Kamloops moved to drought Level 5 restrictions, limiting water use for residents in an attempt to reduce city-wide water use by 25 per cent. The restrictions limited outdoor watering to handheld nozzles only, and restricted washing of vehicles and boats.

The drought level for Kamloops is set by the province, with Level 5 being noted to have adverse impacts to socio-economic or ecosystem values.

City of Kamloops Engineering Manager Devon Matkowski confirmed residents have been able to meet the city’s goals. As such, the city has announced drip irrigation will be permitted, effective Tuesday (Sept. 5).

“I think a couple factors went into it. One is the great response from the community and where we are seeing our water use is — we are right where we want to be. And then also recognizing that drip is a source of irrigation that is efficient and will actually help protect things like trees and shrubs,” said Matkowski.

With this being the first time the city has ever faced Level 5 drought, Matkowski admitted it would be a learning experience for city officials as well. The city is on weekly calls with the province, and at this time there are no signs of the severe drought coming to an end.

“We are where we want to be with water use. It’s an opportunity to kind of evolve what we are doing and learn from it. And we are committed to at the end of this, once the drought levels go away, is look at what worked this year and if we find ourselves in this position again we will be better prepared,” added Matkowski.