For at least two Okanagan mayors, water conservation is a cause worth fighting for.
That was evident when Armstrong mayor Joe Cramer and Lake Country mayor Blair Ireland squared up in a friendly display of competitive spirit at the Okanagan Basin Water Board's launch of this year's Make Water Work campaign.
The campaign has been around since 2011 and its goal is to reduce water consumption from Armstrong to Osoyoos by inviting residents to make a pledge to take steps towards more efficient water use.
This year's campaign was launched at Armstrong City Hall Wednesday, May 21 香蕉视频直播� a fitting location, as not only do the freshly landscaped grounds of city hall feature water-conserving xeriscaping, Armstrong is also a six-time Make Water Work champion (a distinction given out to the municipality that collects the most pledges per capita during the campaign), including back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023.
That winning record prompted a shout-out from Cramer to former Armstrong mayor Chris Pieper, who presided over those past victories. It also appeared to light a fire under Ireland, who is looking to bring Lake Country its first Make Water Work title.
The competition between municipalities is all in good fun, but the issue it aims to address is a serious one.
Melissa Tesche, the water board's new executive director, said a 2010 study made three findings that are highly relevant to the campaign. The first is that the Okanagan has less water available per person than anywhere else in Canada. Secondly, the Okanagan uses more water per person than anywhere else in Canada. Thirdly, the second-highest usage of water in the region is outdoor lawns.
The board, said Tesche, is looking to address that third finding in particular.
This year's Make Water Work campaign is different than previous years in that it involves a partnership with FireSmart BC, a provincial initiative aimed at reducing the risk of wildfire damage to homes and communities.
As Tesche said, water conservation and wildfire risk reduction go hand in hand.
She spoke of the sense of apprehension the summer months bring on, in light of some of the nasty wildfire seasons the region has recently endured.
"For me it's a tightness in the chest. When it starts to get warm, you get a couple weeks of being really glad that spring and summer is coming, (but) it also comes with anxiety of what's just ahead: it's fire season in the Okanagan and it's tough to wrap your mind around."
Ireland, chair of the water board, said the heat and dryness of Okanagan summers "demand that we become more conscious of our water use."
He said the Maker Water Work campaign's embrace of FireSmart principles is a crucial step.
"We have less water available per person than anywhere in Canada, but we all use more. And our population continues to grow. We have pressures to grow our communities," Ireland said.
The Lake Country mayor recalled the wildfire that entered his community and destroyed three homes in 2023, and noted how much worse that event could have been.
"The only thing that saved us is that we had an interconnect from our upland water source that provides (agricultural) water, so we were able to continue to fight the fire without missing a beat," he said. "Had we not had that interconnect, we would have not had the water that we needed to fight that fire."
Cramer said the blooms in front of city hall 香蕉视频直播� part of the Make Water Work demonstration garden 香蕉视频直播� "perfectly illustrate that water-wise landscaping can be both stunning and practical."
Both mayors challenged other communities to take on the water-conservation challenge.
Okanagan residents can visit to find tips to maintain a beautiful yard that conserves water, check out the Make Water Work plant collection, and take a pledge. Examples of pledges include only watering between dusk and dawn; choosing plants native to the region and suitable for its dry climate; watering plants and not pavement; and tuning up irrigation systems.
The campaign runs until mid-October. The community with the most pledges per capita will be named Make Water Work Community Champions and those that pledge are entered to win one of two $500 WaterWise yard upgrades.
