Kelowna moves to Stage 1 water restrictions

After a stretch of dry weather, those who get their water from the City of Kelowna’s utility are now under Stage 1 water restrictions.

“Moving to the next stage of water restrictions isn’t about whether there is enough water in the lake to meet our community need overall. We’ve obviously had extraordinary lake levels this spring,” said Ed Hoppe, water quality and customer care supervisor, in a media release.

“The restriction is needed to reduce high demand on the system at any given time, such as when irrigation systems all turn on. It’s about ensuring our water delivery system can keep up with the demand for drinking water, irrigation, and commercial use while still ensuring we can accommodate emergency situations such as fighting fires.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The restriction is needed to reduce high demand on the system at any given time, such as when irrigation systems all turn on. It's about ensuring our water delivery system can keep up with the demand for drinking water, irrigation, and commercial use while still ensuring we can accommodate emergency situations such as fighting fires."

Stage 1 water restrictions don’t change the rules for manual or automatic sprinkler use. Lawn sprinkling is still allowed up to three days a week. Specific details on the timing of the watering are laid out on the city’s website.

However, it does place more restrictions on when you can water your lawn or garden with a simple watering can or hose with a spring-loaded nozzle. That is now only supposed to take place up to three days a week.

The city’s utility hopes the restrictions will decrease water use by 10 per cent.