Water

Many communities in Alberta are facing drought conditions, particularly in the southern part of the province. After several dry years, Alberta’s mountain snowpack continues to trend below average, river flow data is seeing record lows, and reservoir levels are well below normal for this time of year. These conditions are all contributing factors to what is likely to be a severe drought year for Alberta.

Okotoks is a recognized leader in sustainable water management and will continue to lead under drought conditions. Our Water Shortage Response Plan is in place to sustain water availability for our community’s essential use, and we are also accelerating efforts to educate and prepare our community about the likelihood of a severe drought. In addition to our own practices, the Town is working together with our regional partners to be coordinated and prepared in our drought management efforts.

Providing water to our community for essential use remains our priority. Essential use includes drinking, cooking, sanitation and firefighting activities. Non-essential use is all the other ways our drinking water is used, such as watering lawns, washing cars and filling hot
tubs and pools.

We all have a shared responsibility to conserve water. Okotoks is proud to be one of the lowest per-capita consumers of water in the country and we will continue to rely on our residents and business owners to practice responsible water use. Since 2008, our community has followed an outdoor watering schedule to promote responsible sharing of this limited resource. The Town also has several programs in place to encourage water conservation. 

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*For the latest drought conditions from the Alberta Government, visit alberta.ca/drought-current-conditions

Town of Okotoks Drought Reports

• March 2024

Visit the Government of Alberta's website to learn more about the drought situation in our province, and how you can help:

• AB Drought: alberta.ca/drought
• Drought 101: alberta.ca/drought-101
• How you can help: alberta.ca/drought-how-can-you-help

The Town of Okotoks is a recognized leader in sustainable water management, with a watering schedule in place since 2008 - when our population was just over 17,000. The watering schedule was made into a Water Bylaw to manage supply and demand and promote responsible sharing of a limited resource.

The above outdoor watering schedule was approved by Council on March 25, 2024 to further increase water conservation efforts as we face the likelihood of an upcoming drought. The main changes include watering on weekdays only and reduced daily watering time by one hour. These changes help to reduce peak demand (on weekends) on our water system, while still providing enough watering hours to keep your lawn healthy. 

The watering schedule aligns with our five Water Conservation Stages outlined in the Water Bylaw, becoming increasingly cautious in order to sustain water availability for our community’s essential use (e.g. drinking, cooking, sanitation and fire suppression).

Planning to lay down new sod or seed on your property? You can apply for a Water Exemption Permit which allows for additional watering days to promote root growth establishment of new turf. The Water Exemption Permit will only be issued when the Town is in Water Conservation Stages 1-3 of the Water Bylaw. No new exemptions will be granted in Water Conservation Stages 4 or 5. 

Applications are available May 1 to October 31, when the outdoor watering schedule is in effect. Permits are processed within 1 business day at no charge. 

Please apply for the permit before installing seed or sod:

 Apply for the Water Exemption Permit 

Our Water Allocation Policy ensures that sufficient water license capacity is available before approving land use for new development. The amount of water in the Sheep River is regulated by licenses issued by the Province of Alberta. The Water Allocation Policy works to prevent us from exceeding the licensing capacity of the Sheep River.

Since 2010, the Town has purchased water licenses to facilitate growth, increasing our overall water license portfolio by 45% from 2.8 million cubic meters to over 4 million cubic meters.

Learn more about our Water Allocation System & Policy

The Foothills Okotoks Regional Water Project (Project), a partnership between the Town of Okotoks and Foothills County, continues to positively progress.

Project Status

• The proposed water system includes a water main, reservoir, pump station, and intake.
• The location of the facilities have been determined through engineering analysis of costs, environmental considerations, and operational efficiencies.
• The Town has purchased a site for an above-ground raw water reservoir and pump station.
• Preliminary design work is complete.
• The Town of Okotoks and Foothills County will receive $16M in provincial Water for Life Grant funding to construct a raw water pipeline as part of the Foothills Okotoks Regional Water Project. Water will be pumped from the Bow River where it meets the Highwood River through a shared water system to treatment facilities in both municipalities. Read the full news release & view announcement video below.
• The proposed funding for municipal shares of the project could potentially be 100 percent financed through grants and off-site levies, which are charged to developers to pay for infrastructure required to support growth.

Next Steps

• June 2021- June 2022 - Regulatory approvals (Water Act and Environmental Protection & Enhancement Act &water licence transfer applications submitted
• Late 2022 - Construction Request for Pre-Qualification
• Early 2023 - Construction (design/build) Request for Proposals
• 2024 - Construction
• 2026 - regional water system operational

News Releases

• Timeline adjusted for supplemental water
• Town and County formalize regional water solution
• Regional Pipeline Receives $16M in Provincial Grant Funding
• Town and County discuss partnership and cost-sharing regional supplemental water

The Town’s Water Shortage Response Plan (WSRP) is in place to sustain water availability for our community’s essential use (e.g. drinking, cooking, sanitation and fire suppression). The plan outlines five water conservation stages that become increasingly cautious, depending on current and projected reservoir volumes, as well as taking into account a number of other considerations, including: stability of reservoir levels; lead time consideration; risk to public health and safety; environmental risk; projected license capacity; consideration of other watershed users and regional collaboration; and professional judgment, experience and standards. Changes to these levels can occur quickly—the current level is posted at the top of this page. A table outlining the specific conservation measures and enforcement for each stage of the WSRP is provided in the Town's Water Bylaw. 

Stage 1: Normal Operations

• Stage 1 encourages residents to practice responsible water use. There are no additional measures beyond following the outdoor watering schedule.
• Hand watering flowers, vegetable gardens, trees and shrubs with a container or hose with a manual trigger nozzle is permitted.

Stage 2: Enhanced Community Outreach

• Stage 2 focuses on increasing community awareness about the importance of water conservation.
• Hand watering flowers, vegetable gardens, trees and shrubs with a container or hose with a manual trigger nozzle is permitted.

Stage 3: Outdoor Watering Limited to 1 Day per Week

• Stage 3 introduces additional conservation measures on outdoor water usage to reduce water consumption. Outdoor watering activities, such as watering lawns, are limited to one day per week.
• EVEN numbered homes can water on Friday. ODD numbered homes can water on Monday.
• Hand watering flowers, vegetable gardens, trees and shrubs with a container or hose with a manual trigger nozzle is permitted.

Stage 4: Full Outdoor Water Ban

• Stage 4 signifies a significant escalation in water conservation measures. 
• Outdoor watering is prohibited.

Stage 5: Essential Use Only

• Stage 5 represents the highest level of water conservation urgency, where water resources are prioritized for essential purposes only.
• Outdoor watering is prohibited.

Water Bylaw

Fees, Rates and Charges Bylaw

Fines
Municipal Enforcement enforces the Water Bylaw to ensure residents and businesses/institutions are in compliance. The fines for not following the watering schedule range from $100—$2,500.

Report Outdoor Watering Concerns
Have you noticed residents or businesses watering outside of their schedule? Please fill out this form to notify the Town and we'll send over Conservation Educators to visit the resident or business and have a friendly chat about the watering schedule and its importance to our community. Thanks for helping out!

Report Water Use 

• Okotoks has systems and processes in place to effectively manage the water supply for our community’s essential use, and to support current development. 
• Our Water Allocation Policy ensures that sufficient water license capacity is available before approving land use for new development and works to prevent us from exceeding licensing capacity of the Sheep River.
• The amount of water in the Sheep River is regulated by licenses issued by the Province of Alberta. Since 2010, the Town has purchased water licenses to facilitate growth, increasing our overall water license portfolio by 45% from 2.8 million cubic meters to over 4 million cubic meters.
• Since 2010, our population has increased by almost 10,000 people – yet the amount of water used per person per day has significantly decreased. In fact, Okotoks is one of the lowest per-capita consumers of water in the country.

The Town of Okotoks is committed to water sustainability and living within our means. Since 2008, our community has followed an outdoor watering schedule to manage supply and demand, and promote responsible sharing of a limited resource. It's part of our DNA to conserve water and the watering schedule will not go away - even when the Supplemental Water Solution (pipeline project) is complete.

• The Town of Okotoks is a recognized leader in sustainable water management, with a watering schedule in place since 2008 - when our population was just over 17,000. 
• The watering schedule was made into a Water Bylaw to promote responsible sharing of a limited resource.

Try using a watering timer that connects to your garden hose. You can even get a rebate! Learn more at okotoks.ca/water-rebate

Hand watering flowers, vegetable gardens, trees and shrubs using a container or hose with a manual trigger nozzle may be done at anytime in Water Conservation Stages 1-3, or from 8 PM - 8 AM in Stage 4. Residents may apply for a water exemption permit if they are planning to lay down new sod or grow from seed.

Potable Water: Water that is suitable for human consumption (i.e. water that can be used for drinking or cooking).

Non Potable Water: Water that is not treated to drinking water standards and is not meant for human consumption.

You can apply for a Water Exemption Permit which allows for additional watering days to promote root growth establishment of new turf. The Water Exemption Permit will only be issued when the Town is in Water Conservation Stages 1-3 of the Water Bylaw. No new exemptions will be granted in Water Conservation Stages 4 or 5. 

Applications are available May 1 to October 31, when the outdoor watering schedule is in effect. Permits are processed within 1 business day at no charge. 

Please apply for the permit before installing seed or sod:

 Apply for the Water Exemption Permit 
 

• On hot summer days, residents more than double (and sometimes even triple) regular water consumption just by watering their lawns. As the river cannot produce double/triple capacity on those days, we are using so much water that we are emptying our reserves. That is the definition of unsustainability. By reducing consumption, we live within our means.  
• To put this into perspective, in winter our water consumption is approximately 6000-7500 ML per day. In summer 2022, peak water usage was 14,000 ML per day, while max capacity in the river is 11,500 ML (according to August 2022 stats).
• Accordingly, the Town implemented a Stage 3 Partial Outdoor Water Ban as a proactive measure to ensure we have enough water for essential use, such as drinking, cooking, sanitation and fire suppression. A Stage 3 Partial Outdoor Water Ban means residents are not permitted to water their lawns on weekends.

In Stages 1-3, the Town waters sports fields 3-4 times per week depending on field bookings, turf conditions (assessed weekly) and weather conditions. The irrigation systems are broken down into zones that run for 15 to 20 minutes per zone, between 11 p.m. - 7:30 a.m. 

In Stage 4, all non-priority sports fields irrigated with potable water will be shut down. Watering of priority sports fields will be reduced by 50% (focusing on maintaining safety). Priority fields are defined as any field that is booked several times a week and requires an increased amount of water to combat high traffic (soil compaction) and protect players' safety, as well as withstand weather conditions. These include Howard, Bill Robertson, Conrad Field, Tourmaline Field, Seaman Stadium, the Track, Dr. Morris Gibson, Big Rock, JPII, Lauden and Westmount.

In Stage 5, all sports fields that are irrigated with potable water will be shut down. Sports fields that are irrigated with non potable water will remain open, including Bill Robertson Park, Conrad Field, Laudan Park, Seaman Stadium and Tourmaline Field.

Potable Water: Water that is suitable for human consumption (i.e. water that can be used for drinking or cooking).

Non Potable Water: Water that is not treated to drinking water standards and is not meant for human consumption.

Sports fields that are irrigated with non potable water include:

• Bill Robertson Park
• Conrad Field
• Laudan Park
• Seaman Stadium
• Tourmaline Field

In Stage 4, all non-priority sports fields irrigated with potable water will be shut down. Watering of priority sports fields will be reduced by 50% (focusing on maintaining safety). Priority fields are defined as any field that is booked several times a week and requires an increased amount of water to combat high traffic (soil compaction) and protect players' safety, as well as withstand weather conditions. These include Howard, Bill Robertson, Conrad/Tourmaline, Seaman Stadium, the Track, Dr. Morris Gibson, Big Rock, JPII, Lauden and Westmount.

In Stage 5, all sports fields that are irrigated with potable water will be shut down. Sports fields that are irrigated with non potable water will remain open, including Laudan Park, Bill Robertson Park and Seaman Stadium.

These types of activities are permitted while we are in Water Conservation Stages 1 - 3. However, in Stages 4 & 5, they would not be permitted as these stages signify an escalation in water conservation measures and will will require the community's support to refrain from all non-essential outdoor water activities. Moving to Stages 4 & 5 means that the situation is severe and a water shortage is imminent unless conservation measures are implemented.

• Currently, treated (potable) drinking water is stored within three underground reservoirs with available combined volume of 19.5 ML (million liters). We have approximately 2.8 days storage during average daily demand. This can drop to 1.3 days during heavy outdoor watering in the summer months.
• The new Regional Pipeline will come with a large (raw water) reservoir and 30 days storage. What does this mean? Raw water reservoir stores untreated water (water diverted from the river) and provides enough storage volume (or redundancy) to serve Okotoks for approximately 30 days. This is important when river levels are low where our pumping volumes are reduced. It also provides redundancy during times of system maintenance etc.

Diamond Valley passed a Water Use and Conservation Bylaw in 2023. 

D'Arcy and Crystal Ridge golf courses operate independently from the municipal water system, each with its own water sources and licenses. Currently, discussions are underway between the Town and the golf courses to explore various water conservation strategies. 

These water trucks are using non-potable (untreated) water for dust control purposes.

Sign up for the water portal

The Water Conservation Rebate program rewards residents for practicing responsible water use, such as xeriscaping their yard; planting drought tolerant trees; using rain barrels and rainwater collection systems, and more! Rebates for the 2024 program are offered from March 1 to December 15, 2024, or until the fund is fully depleted. All approved rebate items purchased from January 1, 2024 onward that fall under the program requirements are eligible.

Find out which items qualify!

Estimate your water bill using the Utility Bill Calculator!

This calculator will help keep track of your outdoor water consumption and the direct impact it may have on your next utility bill. Since utility fees are directly linked to usage, this is a great tool to help you save money!

Try the utility calculator

We love this You Tube video from the City of Saskatoon that showcases when and how much to water lawns, and how to know when your lawn needs watering. Information on the use of sprinklers and timed irrigation systems, xeriscaping, rain barrels and mulch is also included.

Watch the video