With little rain, or snow in 2023, the city is carefully monitoring the Oldman River Reservoir as it’s at its lowest point in nearly three decades.
Officials say while there is no risk of running out of drinking water, staff are planning and preparing for possible water conservation measures in the future.
“The City of Lethbridge is monitoring reservoir levels and works with the Provincial Government to assure our community water supply,” says Doug Kaupp, General Manager of Water and Wastewater Services. “There is no current risk, but we continue to plan and prepare and certainly acknowledge the need for significant precipitation in the months ahead.”
City staff are in regular discussion with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (AEPA) regarding the dam level as well as any operations or future impacts to water levels that could impact the drinking water supply.
“In the 30 years I’ve been watching this, the volumes of water have never been this low, so we are planning and preparing, and there is a high probability that we’ll be talking about this next Spring,” says Kaupp.
Kaupp adds that the city is taking steps including dredging the intake canal that carries water from the river to the treatment plant, ensuring the hydraulic capacity is there and working to remove any built-up silt so it’s as deep as it can be for winter.
He also mentions that there are restriction plans that, if need be, can be implemented to help make reductions depending on what the water supply looks like.
Back in August the City asked residents to reduce water usage which saw a 20 per cent reduction in peak water consumption.