With all indications pointing to one of the driest seasons on record, Osoyoos Town Council has moved proactively to impose water restrictions.

Once the necessary public notice is given, watering will be restricted at residential and commercial properties to just two days a week.

This is on top of existing restrictions about the time of day that sprinkler systems can operate.

Currently the level of Osoyoos Lake is just under 912 feet above sea level and we are heading into June, normally the wettest month of the year.

But that is deceptive. With lower precipitation than usual during the winter, followed by a warmer spring and an early snow melt, snowpack levels in the mountains have been dangerously low.

In the most recent B.C. River Centre snowpack report, the Okanagan basin’s snowpack was only 41 per cent of normal for this time of year and the Similkameen’s is an extremely low 29 per cent.

The flow of the Similkameen has a major impact on the amount of water in the Okanogan River in Washington State – which has already declared a drought emergency.

While water levels in the Okanagan lakes in Canada remain high, there will be increasing demands throughout the summer for water for agriculture, the fishery and other uses – in addition to normal evaporation.

And with little snowpack left, there won’t be the water to replenish the lakes unless we get significant rainfalls over the next couple of months.

Council has looked at these conditions and has chosen to be proactive.

Some may quibble that council chose the more restrictive twice-weekly watering instead of alternate days, as recommended by the Okanagan Basin Water Board. Some may question the timing this early in the season, with June rains just starting.

But it’s important to note that council can lift or change these restrictions at any point depending on weather conditions and water levels.

By acting now and choosing the stricter Stage 2 restrictions, council is sending a strong signal to residents that we need to start changing our behaviour now – not when the drought becomes an emergency.

We live in Canada’s only desert and our water is a precious resource.

Controling wasteful habits is a good idea at all times and not just in severe drought emergency years.