While water conservation is always a concern, and parts of B.C. are under drought conditions, staff at the city of Kimberley report that the local water sheds, snow pack and reservoir levels remain near average.
The information was provided in the Admin Update provided to Council last week.
The report notes that the April 1, 2024 snowpack reports indicated the current local snowpack is close to the last six year average.
In 2019, the Sullivan Snow Report indicate the snow pack at 70 per cent of normal; in 2020, 86 per cent, in 2021 it was 81 per cent, 78 in 2022, 92 in 2023 and 79 in 2024.
Although Kimberley is not seeing significant effects of drought in the community watersheds yet, staff are continuing to monitor the situation closely and are implementing water conservation measures in line with the 2021 Water Conservation Plan Update. These include implementation of stage two water restrictions sooner and increased public education with the return of water ambassadors in the summer of 2024, the report says.
City of Kimberley on Stage 2 Water Restrictions as of May 2
In other water-related news, the city is working with a consultant to conduct a Dam Safety Review which is required every seven years for dams with a failure consequence classification of ‘extreme’. The Mark Creek Dam status was upgraded to ‘extreme’ from ‘very high’ during the last DSR in 2016.
The increase to “extreme” classification is based on the downstream anticipated affects should a failure occur with the dam.
As the work on the DSR continues a number of issues have been noted. For instance the Admin Update reports that the low-level outlet valves on both the upstream and downstream sides of the damage currently inoperable due to ice damage over the years. The DSR is expected to be completed this month and will recommend repair and maintenance options.