City of Kamloops lifts water use restrictions, thanks residents for conservation efforts

KAMLOOPS — As the province scaled back to Drought Level 4 for the Kamloops area earlier Thursday (Oct. 5), the City of Kamloops is lifting its water use restrictions.

In a news release, the city says all water use restrictions enacted on August 14 are rescinded, effective immediately.

Engineering Manager Deven Matkowski says the city’s residents were extremely compliant with the restrictions, reducing water over and above the city-wide target of 25 per cent.

“We want to thank Kamloops residents and businesses who stepped up in a big way to help conserve water during the unprecedented and adverse conditions we saw this year,” said Matkowski in the release. “The collective effort of the community allowed over 500 million litres of water to remain in the river to support fish and the ecosystem.”

The activities now allowed include all forms of water use, such as irrigation with sprinklers and automatic systems, vehicle and boat washing, and pressure washing.