Twenty-eight years ago, when Rob Geier first planted the seeds for what would become a garden beautiful enough to join the Lake Country Garden Tour, there was plenty of grass around the perennial garden and much water was needed to keep it going.
But the Lake Country councillor says times have changed and while his garden is still a labour of love that needs water, he has vowed to use less water and continue to change his habits as the water resource in the Okanagan Valley continues to be stretched by dry conditions.
“When we first planted we did have a lot of grass and a lot of it has been eliminated over time,” said Geier last week as he took the Make Water Work pledge to reduce his personal water use. “I was the furthest thing from someone who saved water and I’m moving towards that now. I’m more cognizant of the water being wasted. We have been replacing a lot of the plants with xeriscape plants. We used to have nine zones with overhead sprayers and now we are down to two overhead sprayers and the rest are drip.”
Geier was in Kelowna, along with mayors and local politicians from every municipality from Vernon to Osoyoos, pledging to take a Make Water Work Challenge and change their own water use habits heading into another Okanagan summer.
The Okanagan is coming off a year where the provincial government enacted a level 4 drought and this year’s warm spring and early fire season are pointing towards another year of extremely dry conditions in the area.
However, despite the message being hammered down by local politicians as well as the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) and municipalities, all of which are enacting some sort of water restrictions or conservation plans, the message doesn’t appear to be getting through to everyone.
“(I) wish they wouldn’t attack water so much cause (sic) I use it as bug spray. I spray off the bugs with it every day and every day I water. Screw the district. I would much rather have water sprayed on my plants than pesticide,” commented Sharon Smith on the Kelowna Capital News Facebook page, responding to a water conservation tip.
Still, Geier felt the message is getting through and he was hopeful that the leadership shown by the OBWB as well as the municipalities will push people to think twice before over-using water.
“Hopefully the message is getting out there,” said Geier, a retired teacher who said adults today need to show leadership and educate the youth and future homeowners. “Young people are the ones you can mould in elementary and high school. They are the ones who will have the helm and they won’t even look to (green) lawns, they will look to xeriscaping. (Municipalities) need to take a lead role. We can’t go planting and having sprinklers going all the time and expect residents to reduce water as well.”
In Lake Country, Geier pointed to the district’s investment in water with a 20-year, $79-million water master plan. The district is in the midst of installing water metres on every residential, agriculture, commercial and industrial water user. Residential installations are complete and residents have now received the first of four mock-bills that will show what they pay and their water usage.
Geier said he’s hopeful the water metres will help people conserve water.
“I think the majority of the people will get the (water conservation) message,” he said. ” And I think it’s because of the metering. It’s easy to abuse water when everyone is paying the same amount. When you are paying the same amount you are going to keep your lawn and garden green. I don’t want to see it where people allow their places to fall apart and everything dries out. I think it’s about educating people so they will look at these types of xeriscape plants. They are drought tolerant plants and a lot of them bloom all year.”
The Make Water Work challenge lays out several ways residents can conserve water. Go to makewaterwork.ca to take the challenge and to find plenty of information on conserving water as well as on the make water work plant collection.
“This year the collection has been expanded to include 54 plants, including beautiful grasses, perennials, shrubs and trees, perfect for the dry Okanagan climate,” said Corinne Jackson, OBWB communications director. “As well, two new garden centres have joined the program, bringing the total to nine, ensuring nearly all Okanagan residents can walk into a garden centre in their community and find the Make Water Work collection.”
Residents who take the challenge will be entered to win several prizes including a grand prize of a water wise yard upgrade worth $6,000.
