Kawartha Lakes requests residents to conserve water during peak summer demand

Kawartha Lakes – The City of Kawartha Lakes is asking residents and visitors to reduce non-essential water use during the hot summer months. As temperatures rise, people use more water, which puts extra pressure on our municipal drinking water systems.

The municipality operates 21 drinking water systems that get their water from lakes, rivers, or groundwater (aquifers). These sources rely on rain and melted snow to replenish, which means they can run low during hot and dry weather.

Water demand is at its highest during the summer months as residents and visitors engage in outdoor activities such as watering lawns, washing cars and filling pools. This increased usage puts added pressure on water treatment facilities, which must work harder to meet the increased demand while maintaining operational and treatment efficiency. At the same time, reduced water tables make it more difficult for groundwater systems to pump water to reach the surface. Surface water systems, despite their larger water supply, also face challenges – prolonged heat can decrease both the availability and quality of raw water.

Our municipal drinking water systems don’t have unlimited capacity. Most don’t have space to store large volumes of treated water. If a system cannot keep up with demand, water must be brought in from larger systems—an expensive and time-consuming process.

To help keep our water safe and available for everyone, we are asking people to avoid non-essential water use, such as:

• Washing vehicles
• Watering lawns
• Filling swimming pools (please use a water hauling service for this)

These simple actions make a big difference and help ensure everyone continues to have clean, reliable drinking water.

Please reach out at any time if you have questions or concerns regarding your drinking water. For additional information on water quality and treatment in Kawartha Lakes please visit the Water Quality page on our website.

For Annual Drinking Water Reports please visit the Water, Wastewater and Sewer page and look for the Annual Reports (Drinking Water and Wastewater) tab.

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