WHAT DOES A DROUGHT MEAN FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY?
Severe drought conditions pose significant risks to people and communities. Drought can lead to reduced water availability for household and business use. Drought can reduce crop growth and quality, leading to smaller harvests. Less water may be available for irrigation and for animal care. Hotter temperatures that coincide drought may lead to early crop maturity or ripening.
Read more from the Provincial Government on drought.
Affects of droughts range greatly between commercial retail and landscaping & development, but both are still accountable for conservation. Businesses that require water for their products or services could face financial difficulties during a drought if we are not collectively conscious of our water use.
If a business’ only water supply is from the City and the City declares a water restriction, decreasing allowable water for a business, they would need to secure an alternate supply to maintain their business operations. Some businesses simply may not have the ability to secure an alternate water source and may need to suspend operations until conditions improve.
DOES THIS SOUND LIKE SOMETHING THAT WOULD CHALLENGE YOUR BUSINESS/ORGANIZATION?
Please submit a reply↴ to our form below so we can best support you.
TOP WAYS TO MITIGATE COMMERCIAL WATER USE
Climate change induced summer droughts are expected to make the need for effective water conservation more urgent than ever. New technologies to make water conservation easy are becoming mainstream around the world.
REDUCE OUTDOOR WATER USE:
- Landscaping
- Reduce area of watered lawn. Consider using a “Low-water landscape treatment” for 1/4 to 1/2 of the landscaped area. This could be rock gardens, drought-tolerant shrubs, ornamental grasses, ground cover, or other decorations.
- Paving materials
- Using pervious paving materials instead of concrete/pavement with wider cracks & small aggregate – allowing water runoff to absorb back into the soil.
- New developments
- Increase growing medium during development. If there is only a thin layer of soil over blasted rock – there is very little chance of the landscaping ever remaining green. Landscapers/Home development companies should familiarize themselves with the BC Landscape standards, encouraging sustainable ground treatments during new developments.
- Irrigation systems
- “Hydrozoning” is the practice of clustering together plants with similar water requirements in an effort to conserve water. This allows you to cater your irrigation system to match landscaping needs and not over/under water aspects of your land.
- For irrigating landscaping of anything other than sod – sprinkler heads are only about 30% effective to getting water to the plants/shrubs that need them. To consider maintenance of a low-water landscape – drip irrigation systems are considerably more effective (90%).
HOW IS THE CITY OF CRANBROOK REDUCING THEIR WATER USE THROUGHOUT COMMUNITY?
The City of Cranbrook has developed a Drought Response Plan to address operations during drought conditions. They will be adjusting and re-evaluating all outdoor water use for 2024 and beyond. These adjustments include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Postponing the unidirectional flushing program until 2025
- Reducing the amount of dust control on streets and pathways
- Cutting irrigation activities and only irrigating priority sports fields
- Reducing operating hours of public spray parks
- Increased monitoring for water bylaw violations
The City has secured an alternate water source for certain programs such as sweeping and dust control along with planters and flowerpots.
Other programs have been suspended as well, most notably the City’s unidirectional flushing program. This program though necessary uses a lot of water to remove accumulated sediment within the water mains by flushing out of specific hydrants. With suspending this program for 2024 the City does not anticipate any reduction of the water quality.
The City will also be having more increased monitoring for bylaw violations with employees working through the night, if needed. Lastly, the City will be proactive in finding leaks in known areas of concern.
WHAT ARE THE WATER RESTRICTION STAGES FOR BUSINESS?
Whether commercial or residential – All of Cranbrook follows the same watering restriction stages. To view the current Stage of water restriction, please visit the City of Cranbrook’s website.
- Watering hours are limited to a maximum of 2 hours per day. Watering is permitted between either:
- 5:00AM – 10:00AM
- 8:00PM – 11:00PM
- Watering days are based on your home/business address:
- Monday & Thursday – Even numbered addresses
- Tuesday & Friday – Odd numbered addresses
—
DURING RESTRICTION STAGES 1–3, EXCEPTION PERMITS CAN BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY OF CRANBROOK FOR BUSINESS USE
To apply for an Outdoor Water Use Exception *Permit please submit your completed application to:
Engineering and Development Services
1212 2nd Street North
*Permits are valid for 3 weeks and are eligible for a one time extension. Permits will not be valid during Stage 3 and 4 water regulations.
HOW WOULD STAGE 4 WATER RESTRICTIONS AFFECT BUSINESS?
Under Stage 4 restrictions, *all use of water outdoors ends.
Operation will also end for factories or plants such as:
- Water bottling facilities
- Hydroponic facilities
- Car washes
- Concrete and asphalt producers
*Golf courses will be able to irrigate as necessary, as they are not connected to the City’s water system
HOW CAN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY INFLUENCE IMPACTS OF WATER RESTRICTIONS?
The business community is often a leader in innovation and adaptation, seeking ways to improve efficiency and finding opportunities to do more with less.
The City of Cranbrook invites local business to explore new ways to market or diversify their products & services to meet the potential challenges of a drought. A few examples are below:
- Showcasing examples of landscaping and development standards that are drought tolerant while still maintaining great functionality and aesthetics
- Pioneering best practices for construction or manufacturing minimizing water use or using recycled water
- Promoting water wise products, appliances, systems, and services
- Seeking cooperative partnership opportunities with other businesses and sectors advancing drought planning practices
Do you have ideas to share with the City? Help us make Cranbrook an example of conservation and resiliency!
