County updates drought plan with dry summer ahead

Southern Alberta Newspapers File PHOTO. DROUGHT PLAN: Cypress County has adjusted its Drought Plan heading into an expected dry spring and summer.

By Anna Smith
Southern Alberta Newspapers

In preparation for projected dry conditions, Cypress County has made some adjustments to its Drought Plan.

One of the larger changes is that the stages of the plan will now be dictated by the flow levels of the South Saskatchewan River, as the AEP level 1-4 “triggers” have been taken out. This is to help collaboration with the City of Medicine Hat, as explained in the agenda item prepared by Doran Jensen, utilities supervisor.

Work will also be done to communicate regulations as they come into effect over social media, said director of public works Ken Jacobs.

“Once we get into stage one, and likely before, we’ll throw the messaging out there on social media that the plan is in place, and to refer to it for restrictions and for times for watering,” said Jacobs. “It just increases the restriction as we go into stage two and stage three and stage four.”

Reduction goals of 10-30%, which were in the initial plan, have been adjusted. While these were originally in line with the city’s goals, it’s been found that the county has fewer ways of reducing water usage, as most of its water goes to lawns and tap usage.

Details regarding stages of the drought plan and the associated restrictions are available on the Cypress County website.