Kamloops area starts season at elevated, but easing year-over-year drought conditions

“That snow has melted off early and it has been fairly dry, particularly in the last few months.”

The River Forecast Centre also said the Nk’e?xép Management Committee has rated the Upper and Lower Nicola Rivers and the Coldwater River with moderate water scarcity levels.

The Nk’e?xép Management Committee recommends voluntarily restricting water to conserve resources, preparing storage options, and increasing monitoring where capacity allows.

Campbell said conditions over the winter point to some relief in the overall dryness in the Kamloops area and across the province.

“It’s been positive through the winter. We saw some fairly significant rain events come through and some precipitation being added – some of the low snowpack we have experienced has been that precipitation coming as rain rather than snow through the years,” said Campbell.

“We did get some ground saturation and some water into the systems, and that has helped the long-term picture, particularly seeing some improvement in the year-on-year precipitation where we did see a couple of years that built that cumulative drought up.”

However, Campbell said this has not been enough to overcome a multi-year drought.

“I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet. We’re already seeing those indications of drought conditions in the short term coming into the summer, so that’s concerning, but we have seen some improvement on that long-term indicator for drought through the region,” said Campbell.

“We know the summers are dry, particularly once we get through the last month of spring, with June typically being a wet month. Once we get to July and August, it’s quite dry through the region and we don’t tend to get a lot of additional rain.”

Campbell said early snowmelt and the low snowpack, combines with a lack of precipitation and hot weather combine to create prolonged drought conditions.

“When we look at the seasonal forecast, there’s a really high likelihood of seeing a hot, warmer-than-normal summer. From the drought side, it could be just dry, but also the temperature itself it could play a role in the drought in terms of increasing evaporation,” said Campbell.

“This means the loss of water from the landscape, back into the atmosphere. Meaning we don’t get to keep that moisture in the soil and percolating into the rivers.”

Campbell said water conservation is a key step the public can take to help mitigate scarcity.

“Conserving water resources early helps build resilience to these drought events. Looking to local governments and water providers for the guidance they are providing on water use within your community is important and following those restrictions if they come into place as we go through the summer,” said Campbell.

“You can look at things like how much watering you’re doing, building water resistant features in your home, things that use less water, taking shorter showers, and growing plants that use less water are some things you can do to build that personal resilience.”

You can find more drought information from the B.C. government here.

by Elora McCormack

Kamloops area starts season at elevated, but easing year-over-year drought conditions

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