{"id":695442,"date":"2026-05-26T18:54:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/695442\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T18:54:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:54:21","slug":"dawson-creek-lifts-some-water-restrictions-but-drought-concerns-remain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/695442\/","title":{"rendered":"Dawson Creek lifts some water restrictions, but drought concerns remain"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

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The City of Dawson Creek is relaxing some water restrictions as spring runoff buoys the city’s water supply.<\/p>\n

But officials say residents shouldn’t get complacent as the possibility of another summer of drought threatens the Kiskatinaw River in northeast B.C., and the city’s long-term water security.<\/p>\n

City councillors voted Monday to end Stage 3 conservation measures enacted last September<\/a> to prevent a winter water shortage.<\/p>\n

“Bearhole is still flowing, the river’s still flowing, reservoirs are full,” Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Henderson said, referring to Bearhole Lake, the rain and snow-fed headwaters of the city’s only source of drinking water.<\/p>\n

“If the weather doesn’t change, we’ll be back [to restrictions], but in the meantime, I think we as a community need to be able to carry on.”<\/p>\n

WATCH | Dawson Creek eyeing $100M pipeline:\"\"<\/p>\n

Dawson Creek eyes $100M water pipeline as deepening drought threatens drinking supply<\/p>\n

Dawson Creek is facing a severe water shortage due to four years of drought. To secure its water supply for the next 50 to 100 years, the city plans to build a $100 million pipeline to the Peace River, located 55 kilometres north. As Matt Preprost reports, the city is seeking provincial funding and wants to fast-track the environmental review process, which could take up to five years, in order to get shovels in the ground sooner<\/p>\n

The move means residents can once again fill swimming pools and hot tubs, and use a sprinkler to water their lawn. <\/p>\n

Industrial users are allowed to haul bulk water for fracking or filling dugouts.<\/p>\n

The city is returning to Stage 1 measures<\/a>, which outline certain days and times when residents can water their yards.<\/p>\n

Henderson says city reservoirs can store more than 170 days’ worth of water.<\/p>\n

“There’s a reason we built the reservoirs and store the water we do,” Henderson said. <\/p>\n

“Those reservoirs give us a lot of lead time in order to make decisions so we’re able to do this.”<\/p>\n

Drought concerns remain<\/p>\n

However, the city has yet to see much spring rain.<\/p>\n

According to Environment Canada data, just one millimetre of rain had been recorded at the Dawson Creek airport weather station throughout 2026, as of May 24. <\/p>\n

By comparison, nearby Fort St. John has recorded 16.4 millimetres.<\/p>\n

Meteorologist Derek Lee says while more rain may have fallen in the area, it has either been trace amounts that aren’t measurable, or very localized.<\/p>\n

“We are entering the wet season for the B.C. Peace,” Lee said. “Sometimes we get moisture brought in back from Alberta, that brings us some prolonged rainfall.” <\/p>\n

\"AA meteorologist says that rain only falls in small pockets during localized thunderstorms across the Peace region. (Eric Foss\/CBC)<\/p>\n

But rain mostly falls in very small pockets during localized thunderstorms across the Peace region, he said. <\/p>\n

“It won\u2019t be a widespread rain event,” Lee said. <\/p>\n

“That\u2019s how we get our wet season in for the northeast.”<\/p>\n

Coun. Charlie Parlsow says several years of drought have affected the region’s water supply, and climate trends suggest those conditions may continue.<\/p>\n

He said he remains concerned over a “strong complacency culture that exists” in the region.<\/p>\n

“If you believe in science, and climate science is pretty sophisticated, this pattern of drought is not a one-year, two-year [thing]. It’s been a three- or four-year thing here, maybe five years,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s going to continue, so we mustn’t take our foot off the pedal in getting a secure water system.”<\/p>\n

Dawson Creek has been studying a new source of water supply, including the possibility of tapping into the Peace River, about 50 kilometres north of the city.<\/p>\n

Henderson says council will get an update on that work in June, with more details on options and costs expected later this summer.<\/p>\n

He says that information will support talks with the provincial and federal governments about finalizing and funding a long-term solution.<\/p>\n

“Anybody who thinks that the Kiskatinaw is a secure water system in our present time, and immediate future, is bonkers,” Parslow said.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to CBC\u2019s Fort St. John Weekly<\/a> for a roundup of the best news and stories from B.C.\u2019s Peace and Northern Rockies.<\/p>\n

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