Peachland bailiff gathers info and enforces restrictions
Posted December 2005
A water bailiff was hired for the summer of 2005 to help enforce Peachland’s watering restrictions, and to gain a better understanding of how water is used by both residents and growers. This will help the district make sound water management decisions now and in the future.
The water bailiff help residents better understand the district’s watering restrictions. Almost immediately, this helped reduce the amount of water residents used. Those residents who received notices because of watering outside of allotted times were not penalized; rather, the bailiff educated them about when and how they should be watering.
There are many residential users with automatic irrigation systems. These systems can be set to run very efficiently with little effort, and reduce the risk of leaving a hose running much longer than intended. Another benefit to modern, automated irrigation systems is that they make it easy to water in the cooler times of the evening, when the least amount of water is lost to evaporation.
While interviewing agricultural users about their irrigation practices, the bailiff found that many were watering very efficiently with drip irrigation. Other growers expressed plans to install drip irrigation systems, which water effectively and efficiently.
The district wants residents to know that water conservation efforts will ultimately help maintain community sustainability. Effective water management will help preserve and protect Peachland’s water source and existing distribution assets, while making it possible to plan future development that will maintain a vital and thriving community.
For more information contact the District of Peachland at 250-767-2647 or visit www.peachland.ca.