As the drought continues and water sources dry up, local farmers are calling for a more coordinated approach to ensuring their crops, and livelihoods, don’t die.
The BC Fruit Growers’ Association (BCFGA) is calling on Greater Vernon Water and the Regional District of North Okanagan to halt the current approach to agricultural water shut-offs and immediately establish a coordinated management plan with growers and senior government.
In the middle of the growing season (as of July 13), agricultural properties that have reached their reduced seasonal allocation are having their water service cut off entirely — during the hottest weeks of the year.
The BCFGA says Greater Vernon Water’s decision to reduce agricultural allocations by 70 per cent, and to shut off service once that allocation is reached, was made without a coordinated survival plan for the orchards and farms it affects.
“No one is disputing that the drought is serious, and growers are not asking anyone to deliver water that does not exist,” said Deep Brar, president of the BCFGA. “What we are saying is that you cannot simply shut off the water to hundreds of farms and treat it as a routine restriction. When the decision you are making could kill orchards that took 20 years to grow, you have an obligation to coordinate that decision — with the growers who will live with it, and with the province, which holds tools that a regional district does not.”
The BCFGA says economic stakes are severe as the shut-offs affect more than 2,100 acres of apple and cherry orchards in the Greater Vernon area.
It estimates widespread orchard loss could cause more than $250 million in direct losses, and over $300 million once lost production, packing, trucking, labour, suppliers, and related local businesses are counted.
Unlike an annual crop, a mature orchard is long-term food-producing infrastructure and if the trees die, the loss is measured in years, not a single season, with the economic damage radiating through the economy.
The BCFGA says practical measures that could reduce the damage have moved too slowly.
Vernon’s own reclaimed water source, which could provide a reliable irrigation supply to the Goose Lake and Bella Vista service areas, has not been connected, as provincial approvals are still needed.
Options to recommission existing water sources and support emergency wells also remain unresolved.
“The hardest part for growers is that this feels like it is being done to them, not with them,” said Adrian Arts, BCFGA executive director. “Decisions of this magnitude cannot be handed down and enforced without a coordinated plan behind them. Before the water is shut off, growers need to know what mitigation is actually being delivered, and the regional district needs to be at the table with the province working through every available option. That coordination should have happened before the taps were turned off.”
BCFGA is calling on Greater Vernon Water and the Regional District of North Okanagan to convene an urgent, coordinated agricultural water session with growers and the relevant provincial ministries, to bring forward a clear plan and timeline for the mitigation options still on the table, and to be transparent with affected farmers about what water will be available and when.
The district has been seeking provincial approvals for such measures and has held meetings with farmers.
It also urges farms to explore water allocation transfers, where properties can transfer all or part of their remaining allocation to another farm property. Partial transfers can also be made.
“If you do not expect to use your reduced allocation this season, you may transfer all or part of your remaining allocation to another agricultural customer,” the district advises. “If you need additional water to get through the season, please contact the agricultural coordinator to be potentially matched with a customer who may have allocation available.”
The Water Allocation Adjustment Form is available at https://buff.ly/on8ugIL or in person at the RDNO main office (9848 Aberdeen Rd.) to apply for the transfer of allocation with another property owner.
For more information or assistance, contact the agricultural coordinator at jess.washtock@gmail.com or 250-804-9260.