Tricia Sullivan with lambs born on Sullideo Farm in 2015.

Image Credit: Sullindeo Farm via Facebook

Farmers are looking for options as the City of Kamloops prepares to shut off their irrigation.

City council surprised Noble Creek landowners last month when it voted to shut down the irrigation system.

"It's a devastating thing to lose irrigation in an area that's supposed to be agricultural," farmer Tricia Sullivan said.

Sullivan owns Sullindeo Farm with her husband where they raise poultry and grow vegetables on their 10-acre property off Dairy Road. It's one of 41 properties that use the irrigation system and it's one of many that don't have direct access to the North Thompson River.

READ MORE: Kelowna RCMP want help catching Knox Mountain fire culprits

City council voted to decommission the irrigation system on May 30 in a closed meeting, cancelling a plan approved last year that would extend its use until 2028.

It was first built in 1968 with the City taking ownership in 1973 when it amalgamated the land. Until 2010, Noble Creek properties used it for both drinking water and irrigation and was used strictly for farm use until today.

The City hasn't been able to keep up with erosion along the riverbank and high water sped up its plans to decommission the system this past spring, according to the City.

Staff were "no longer confident" rip rap along the banks would keep the system operating until 2028, as previously decided in 2022. Council voted at that time to put $3 million toward maintaining the system after attempts to strike a $14 million coordinated plan with area farmers fell through in 2020.

The change of plans has area farmers uncertain of their future, while the City aims to give land owners payouts. They'll range anywhere from $250,000 to $5,000, but each property owner will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement once they accept the payment, the City said.

READ MORE: One more obstacle to building more houses in BC: root balls

"Whatever they're trying to say they're offering us is small potatoes," she said.

Sullivan doubts most farmers in the area will be able to fund their own irrigation system, especially for those who aren't along the riverbanks.

She listed several concerns beyond the payout, including wildfire risks for property owners that back onto the slopes on the west side of the North Thompson valley, along with a potential plummet in property value.

Without irrigation, it will drop the value of a farm property, but also risks the ability to receive tax exemptions for agricultural property. BC Assessment requires farm land to produce certain income thresholds in order to be eligible for certain property tax exemptions, but a lack of water could risk that, Sullivan said.

"It devalues the land and increases taxes all in the same shot," she said.

READ MORE: Kelowna is drier than you think heading into fire season

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson said he would have preferred to save the system and asked councillors if they would reconsider their vote, but he said none of them were interested.

One possibility is for the 41 property owners using the irrigation system to take it over, but Sullivan isn't convinced there will be a consensus among them to manage it.

"(The City) offered for us to take over the system so they wouldn't have to worry about it, but when you get 41 people involved, who's going to administer it?" she said. "Who's going to do all that stuff City hall does in the first place?"

The irrigation system is set to shut down by the end of September.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2023