An official with a regional water utility says they continue to meet the demand for water despite a very dry year so far. 

The Pembina Valley Water Co-op supplies its 14 member municipalities with water, which is sourced from the Red River and Stephenfield Lake.

Greg Archibald, CEO for the Pembina Valley Water Co-op, admits the Red River has dropped over the summer months, but it's still in a good position right now.

"One thing that has helped this summer is the fact that Winkler made a decision to supply all of its own water in the summer from their aquifer. So that has helped us a lot."

He says the drought conditions have not impacted their ability to supply water, but they are closely monitoring usage and flows along the Red.

The Water Co-op operates two reservoirs along the river, a fairly large pond at Morris and a smaller one at Letellier, as water storage facilities.

The storage facility at Morris is in good shape, according to Archibald, but it's a different story at the Letellier location.

"It's been drained down because there has been heavy usage in the area from Letellier to Altona, Winkler and Morden areas. In the next couple of weeks we plan to pump some water directly out of the Red and fill it up before the winter."

Archibald adds, they have been monitoring water usage and flows along the Red River using data from the provincial government, and the information indicates the river is still in a good position based on historical data that goes back to the early 1900s.