With dry summer looming, Lethbridge committee reports unsettling data about monthly water conservation

According to most recent data, the Oldman River in Lethbridge continues to be well-below seasonal averages as spring and summer approach.

With anxiety over a possible summer drought building, the City of Lethbridge’s assets and infrastructure standing policy committee received its monthly water conservation update Thursday.

The city’s director of infrastructure said the provincial outlook has not changed since the last update.

The reservoirs in southern Alberta remain low.

The Oldman Reservoir is now up to 30 per cent compared to 26 per cent  in November, while the St. Mary’s Reservoir is at 19 per cent, with the norm being somewhere between 50 and 75 per cent.

“We are expecting that when we come back next month with the updated strategy and the water conservation plan, we might need to be enacting, I will say, 'voluntary measures'  to start with in order to encourage residents and the public to start using less water from the get-go,” said Lethbridge infrastructure director Joel Sanchez.

The city says the water conservation strategy, which includes a water-rationing plan and targets to reduce water consumption by certain points in the summer will likely also be brought forward during the next update.