The Osoyoos bylaw limiting residents to twice weekly watering during the present drought is leading to some people asking the town for exemptions.

Council last week turned down a request from Elks Golden Villa for an extra day of watering, but agreed to allow town staff to issue special permits in the case of a local business that does pressure washing of buildings.

Writing on behalf of the Osoyoos Elks Senior Citizens Society, Denise Young said Elks Golden Villa tends to require more washing maintenance for safety purposes.

“Situated on extremely sandy soil, the grass areas do not hold the water for any length of time and the area tends to get quite dusty,” she wrote, adding the front entrance is used by seniors, care workers and family members regularly.

In a recommendation to council, however, Barry Romanko, Town of Osoyoos chief administration officer, said the villa could resolve “housekeeping” issues with additional sweeping or other cleaning methods.

“Careful consideration must be given to any request for exemption with potential health and safety risks being the top most pressing factors,” Romanko wrote. “Although a safety risk is noted, the safety risk has the potential to be mitigated in other ways.”

Mayor Sue McKortoff pointed out that if an exception were granted to Elks Golden Villa, it could “open flood gates” of other such requests.

Vancouver, she pointed out, has now cut back to once a week watering in response to the drought situation.

A second request, however, was handled differently.

Glen Peters, who runs G and S Property Maintenance, wrote to council that the recent restrictions have caused a serious hardship to his business because he can no longer pressure wash buildings and parking lots.

“Pressure washing is an integral part of my business and to stop it would cause my business serious financial harm and unemployment,” he wrote.

He said the volume of water used on a building is equivalent to that of washing one vehicle at a car wash.

Romanko recommended that the town allow staff to approve special permits for commercial pressure washing of buildings. Council supported the recommendation, adding the stipulation that washing must be carried out in the early morning before the hottest part of the day.

Romanko pointed out that economic sustainability must be considered in the implementation of the bylaw and that some businesses are tied to the use of water.

“Commercial car washes are able to operate through to Stage 4 of the bylaw and having a clean car is not a health and safety issue, but is linked to economic sustainability,” he wrote in his recommendation to council.

Romanko pointed out that this business didn’t have the opportunity to plan its schedule around the water restriction bylaw. Had they known that water restrictions were coming, they might have done commercial pressure washing earlier or later in the season, he said.

Coun. Mike Campol noted that this created an anomaly in that building owners would not be able to wash their own buildings, but would have to use a commercial service. Nonetheless, he supported council’s decision.

Coun. Carol Youngberg said there is only a four-month window each year when it is feasible to pressure wash buildings.

Coun. C.J. Rhodes said the summer is a time when spiders nest on stucco and he pointed out that Romanko or a designate can vet any requests.

“I find this to be a simple request,” he said. “I don’t want to complicate it.”

In a later interview, McKortoff acknowledged that Vancouver’s water restrictions might not have conserved as much water as anticipated because people are watering longer when they are allowed to.

“We know that right away we may not save as much water as we thought,” she admits. “But what we are doing is having people talk about it. We’re having people realize how much water they use, where they are using it, and I think personally that’s a good thing. People have to be conscious of what they’re using.”

Unlike Oliver, which now has water metering, Osoyoos is still looking into the implications and potential costs.

With fewer than 40 per cent of B.C. homes using water meters, the province lags behind other parts of Canada on their installation.

McKortoff said the town is developing a report on its experience with the water restrictions and another report is being prepared to look into water metering.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times