Okanagan remained at Drought Level 3, other nearby areas saw conditions worsen

The Okanagan is still very dry.

The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship rated the local region’s drought at Level 3 Thursday, August 15, marking the fourth consecutive week under that ranking.

At Level 3, conditions could potentially cause adverse impacts to socio-economic and ecosystem values, and people are asked to follow all local water restrictions and take steps to conserve water.

The rating was unchanged despite Environment Canada only reporting 0.4 millimetres of precipitation in Vernon, zero millimetres in Kelowna, and 0.2mm in Penticton over the previous seven days.

While the Okanagan’s rating was unchanged on a weekly basis, that wasn’t the case for other nearby regions.

The Nicola area saw its rating rise to Level 4, which is the second highest drought rating, while the Similkameen region was also at Level 4 for the second week in a row. Under level 4, conditions are likely to impact the ecosystem and socio-economic values, and regulatory action may be taken to conserve water.

The South Thompson’s rating rose to Level 3 Thursday, up from Level 2 the week prior.

The Lower and North Thompson ratings were unchanged on a weekly basis at Level 3 as well.

As of Thursday, there were four regions in B.C. at the highest ranking of Drought Level 5. Those were East and West Vancouver Island, Upper Fraser West, and Bulkley-Lakes.

The Northwest region was still at the lowest drought rating of Level 0 Thursday, but the Stikine area did see conditions worsen and the ranking rise to Level 1.