Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick said a pair of recent reports show that Kimberley’s water supply and quality are relatively stable, allowing the city to be proactive with their planning.
The city has over 20 years of data on the Mark Creek watershed and about 12 years of information on the Matthiew Creek watershed, which are Kimberley’s two main water sources.
“Despite a lot of ups and downs regarding weather, dry or wet conditions and other things that have happened over that period of time, not much has changed with respect to our quality and quantity of water,” said McCormick.
Most of B.C. is in the midst of a prolonged drought, so McCormick understands why residents may be concerned.
“The water situation is top of mind for just about everybody these days,” said McCormick.
“Council has directed staff to produce a report on the quantity of water from our watersheds and what the implications are, moving forward. It’s more of a preemptive analysis rather than being driven by a specific need at this point.”
McCormick said Kimberley’s stable water supply has given the city breathing room to plan ahead.
“Anecdotally, the evidence shows that we have lots of room for growth, but anecdotal isn’t good enough when it comes to things like water supply or wastewater treatment,” said McCormick.
“We’re going to get some data and use that to inform our decisions moving forward.”
The water quantity report will be released at a future date, which has yet to be determined.
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