With spring around the corner, City of Morden remains at Moderate Drought Stage

Due to the lack of winter snowfall and the subsequent impact on spring runoff, the City of Morden remains in a Moderate Drought Stage.

"The lake is close to 6 feet below the full supply level, and we will still be in the moderate drought stage," said Santokh Randhawa, Deputy City Manager-Operations. "We haven't received a good forecast for what we will get into [Lake Minnewasta]. Although the Environment Canada forecast is showing that in the coming months it will be normal precipitation. But we will wait and watch."

Randhawa says updates forecasts will be provided as they become available. 

"The province will be giving us some details by end of February at what will be the estimated runoff coming to the lake. Once we get those numbers, we can revise the drought stage on that basis."

In the meantime, city officials are asking residents to conserve water in every way possible.

"Right now, we are in the winter, so there are no outdoor uses except for any ice rinks, stuff like that," admits Randhawa. "If somebody wanted to make that, we will say that residents should not do that. Other than that, it will be conserving water when you're taking a shower or using water for your other needs, wherever you can conserve."

Residents are encouraged to review the Morden Drought Plan to understand the specific steps they can take to conserve water. 

~With files from Robyn Wiebe~