November 20, 2015
‘This is a call to action’
With world’s weather changing, City rolls out permanent water reduction strategy
Nelson — With the rain and snow of a traditional late autumn falling on Nelson and the West
Kootenay’s mountains as of late, it may seem a somewhat unusual request.
But the message is urgent. And its cause undeniable.
The world’s weather is changing. And with it, water supplies are being impacted — including our own,
right here in Nelson.
“This month’s precipitation has been extremely important,” says Mayor Deb Kozak, “but after the hot,
dry summer and early autumn we endured, we had only a quarter of the water we usually have in our
creek sources. We’re very lucky to have received 22 percent of 2015’s total annual precipitation in just
the last 18 days.”
“Regardless of the fortunate wet weather, both I and the City’s Councillors are entirely convinced that
Nelson residents absolutely need to believe this — each and every one of us must start conserving
water. Now, tomorrow and into the future.”
Following a summer of extreme drought across the province and a warmer and drier-than-usual early
fall, the City of Nelson has been developing a comprehensive water conservation strategy aimed at
reducing water use by 20 percent, permanently.
“Our water levels are always lowest in fall and winter,” says the Mayor, “and with interior British
Columbia’s long range forecast calling for as much as 40 percent less precipitation than usual, it will be
even more important to conserve water right now and in the months ahead, despite the rain and early
season snow we’ve received.”
“This is a call to action,” says the Mayor. “Council, City staff, business owners, residents — we need to
be proactive and resilient. We simply don’t have the luxury to sit back and hope it rains or snows enough
to meet our needs.”
The City’s Public Works and Utilities Department believes that to create the continuous buffer the City
will need now and into the foreseeable future, particularly in the face of the sort of drought we’ve seen
this year, the community needs to permanently reduce water use both indoor and out in order to
address changing climates, growth, firefighting capacities and impacts on City taxpayers.
“So many municipalities across North America and elsewhere in the world are water-wise,” says Public
Works and Utilities Director Colin Innes. “Nelson can be too, with a number of easy-to-follow steps.”
Shorter showers, the installation of water saving appliances like toilet tank bags and faucet aerators,
wiser lawn and garden watering — there are many ways to reduce household water consumption (see
tips chart, next page). The City and its Water Ambassador are available now to work with residents and
businesses to reduce their usage.
The City has made numerous efforts to ensure a 20 percent water reduction target is promptly met and
maintained. Those efforts include:
•
The adoption of new bylaws aimed at water conservation and enforcement.
•
The on-going upgrade/re-lining of water infrastructure to reduce leakage (even with new
development Nelson’s water usage has been dropping.)
•
Implementing cost-effective infrastructure upgrades/line replacement like the Stores To Shores
project — two-thirds of which was necessary due to aging infrastructure.
•
Council’s implementation of a water metering program which is gathering data on residential,
commercial and institutional water use.
With one primary source of water — Five Mile Creek — and two much smaller secondary sources —
Anderson and Selous Creeks — Innes says the City is looking at a wide variety of alternative water
source options should extreme drought set in later in the winter or again next spring, summer or fall.
Five Mile is a tremendous source of water. Even with this year’s drought conditions, it produced enough
water to serve the city.
“But it’s prudent to identify and develop other potential secondary sources as weather patterns become
more unpredictable,” Innes adds. “We could lose Five Mile in the event of a major wildfire or landslide.”
The Public Works Director also notes that despite its obvious proximity and size, pumping the entire
City’s water supply directly out of Kootenay Lake is neither practical or financially wise.
Pointing out that much of the world has already been dealing with increasing drought and depleting
water resources, some regions for decades, Mayor Kozak assures Nelson residents that the City has
contingency and emergency plans in place to deal with all climate-related events, with highly-trained,
well-experienced staff at all levels and in all positions, whenever they’re needed.
“We’re planning now to manage severe conditions down the road, and ensuring we’re prepared for a
future where water sources, wind, snow, rain and heat will pose challenges like we’ve never seen
before,” says the Mayor. “This is soon going to be the new normal.”
The City of Nelson’s Water Story:
1. Where’s our water come from?
All of the City’s of Nelson’s water supply comes from rainfall and snowpack melt. None of it is glacial
runoff, nor is it pumped from aquifers, Kootenay Lake or any other reserve source. In fact, the presence
of algae and other nutrients in the lake’s water makes it unhealthy to drink without costly treatment,
and very expensive equipment, water main and 24-hour-a-day fuel requirements.
2. How does it get to Nelson?
The City’s primary source of water is Five Mile Creek which has a watershed of almost 50 km2. Five Mile
provides roughly 73 mega litres per day (ML/d) and as much as 400 ML/d during peak run off in May and
June. On average Nelson uses about five ML/d of water for indoor use; but in the summer that has
historically risen to nearly 14 ML/D. The City’s secondary water sources are Selous Creek and Anderson
Creek — which supply additional water during the summer. However, both Selous and Anderson dry up
in the fall.
3. How does water get to your home or business?
Water from Five Mile Creek is stored in the Mountain Station Reservoir, Anderson Creek’s water is
collected in the Anderson Intake above Fairview, and Selous Creek’s water is directed to the City’s water
mains via the Selous Creek Transmission Line, above Uphill. From there, water is distributed throughout
the City’s four water zones through 91 kms of water line.
4. What’s the City do to conserve water?
Water main leakage is the City’s biggest source of water loss. That’s why, over the past ten years, the
City has focused on replacing or re-lining its most troublesome water mains. There’s more. The City also
reduces water system demand by irrigating Lakeside Park and the soccer fields with lake water. The
Cemetery is also watered by a ground water well. The City’s flush truck and street cleaners are also
sourced from the lake. Even with Nelson’s development and growth, the infrastructure replacement
program and irrigation switching has reduced water usage by 25 percent from 2003.
5. Where do we use the most water?
Toilets account for approximately roughly 30 percent of indoor water use, while showers/baths account
for approximately 22 percent; a further 20 percent of our indoor water use goes down clothes’ washer
drains. Kitchen and bathroom faucets account for another 17 percent. Check out the water saving wheel
to the right for ideas on how to reduce indoor water use. As for outdoor water use, during the warm
weather months, lawn watering, gardens, driveway and vehicle cleaning accounts for 39 percent of
Nelson’s water consumption.
Did You Know? Factoids and figures that make you think before you drink (or flush, spray, wash or
wade)
 65 — Maximum percentage by which a low flow shower head will reduce water use during
showers.
 50 — Maximum percentage low flow aerators will reduce indoor faucet water use by.
 4 — Number of water zones in Nelson: Zone 1 (Fort Sheppard Drive to the Upper portion of
Houston and Gore) = three percent of City water usage; Zone 2 (above West Gore and Gore) =
26 percent of water usage, Zone 3 (above McHardey Street/Mill Street and Douglas Road) = 29
percent of water usage, Zone 4 (City of Nelson’s lakeside neighbourhood and downtown core) =
42 percent of total water usage.
 2.5 & 900 —Number of kilometres and vertical feet water would need to be pumped if the City
were to draw from Kootenay Lake to the Mountain Station Reservoir, a scenario that is neither
practical nor financially wise, according to the City’s Public Works Director.
Know Your Flow — Need help reducing your home or business’s water
consumption by 20 percent? Reach the City’s Water Smart Ambassador,
Avery Deboer-Smith, at [email protected].
City of Nelson’s Toilet Tank Bag Contest
How local folks can win a low flow toilet!
Upload a photo of you installing or holding one of the blue toilet tank
bags for your chance to win a Low-Flow Toilet (Two prizes available to be
won).
The Toilet Tank bags are available for FREE at City Hall, the Nelson Public
Library and the Nelson & District Credit Union (while quantities last).
Contest details available here.
Media contacts
Mayor Deb Kozak — 250-551-1168
City Manage , Kevin Cormack — 250-505-4228
Director of Public Works, Colin Innes — 250-551-8107
Contest Coordinator, Ginger Lester — 250-352-8234
Avery Deboer-Smith