City of Medicine Hat not ruling out mandatory water restrictions ahead of expected 2024 drought season

Water for drinking and food production is a priority but activities like using a hose could be banned if the conditions are extreme enough, the city’s director of environmental utilities Jamie Garland said.

“In summer months, the City of Medicine Hat residents use 50 per cent more water [and] a lot of it’s going on lawns and things like that,” Garland told CHAT News.

Jamie Garland, Medicine Hat’s director of environmental utilities, says if conditions are dry this summer, the city’s water shortage plan would come into play. (Ross Lavigne/CHAT News)

“To start with, we would look at voluntary measures. And then, if things were dire, we’d get into mandatory water restrictions if we needed to.”

There are four levels to the city’s water shortage management plan that range from varying voluntary to mandatory water rules for Medicine Hat residents.

In August 2023, amid extremely dry conditions for southern Alberta, the city activated its first phase of voluntary public water conservation measures, limiting the watering of gardens and lawns to 60 minutes per day at a maximum of three days per week.

Garland is still holding out for more precipitation to come to Alberta’s mountains in the wet season between March and June.

The executive director said he and his team are planning for the worst but hoping for the best.

by Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

City of Medicine Hat not ruling out mandatory water restrictions ahead of expected 2024 drought season

Our Community