By ROY WOOD

In addition to his regular duties, the Osoyoos Chief Administrative Officer has added the responsibilities as a sort of water czar added to his portfolio.
In allowing an exemption from the water-use restrictions to a local business, town council also authorized CAO Barry Romanko to rule on similar future requests.
The initial request came from G and S Property Maintenance to allow the company to continue power-washing buildings as part of its business. Using a hose to wash the exterior of buildings is expressly prohibited under the water-use bylaw passed June 15.

G&S owner Glen Peters, in a letter to council, said: “Pressure washing is an integral part of my business and to stop doing it would cause my business serious financial harm and unemployment.”
Councillor CJ Rhodes told council he knows Peters and he is hard working and responsible. As well, said Rhodes, this is the best time of year for power washing because spiders are nesting in the stucco on some buildings.

The report from the administration made the point that the water-conservation goal of the bylaw “must be tempered with the economic realities that certain business activity is tied to the use of water.”
The report recommended that the CAO be authorized to grant exemptions because it would enable “business operators to receive a quick response to their request … and not have to wait for a council meeting.”
Despite fears about the exemption causing a flood of requests, council voted to approve the exemption for G&S, but limited the time for power washing to seven to 10 a.m. and six to nine p.m.
Earlier in the meeting, a request from a seniors’ residence or an extra day of watering was turned down.
The Elks Golden Villa residence, in a letter to council, asked or extra day of watering so that its lawn would remain healthy rather than becoming dry and dusty. Council decided the issue was esthetic rather than health or safety related and turned it down.
Mayor Sue McKortoff said: “I’m thinking that if this is passed it would open the floodgates” of requests for exemptions. She pointed out that Vancouver recently reduced allowable watering to one day per week.
Osoyoos water-use restrictions include:
· Even numbered addresses may water on Saturdays and Tuesdays and odd numbers on Sundays and Wednesdays;
· Properties with automated systems may only water between midnight and 6 a.m. on the permitted days;
· Manually-controlled sprinkling is allowed only between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to midnight;
· Using a hose for washing boats, vehicles, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots or exterior building surfaces is prohibited;
· Public sports playing fields and turf farms are exempt where irreparable damage would occur from lack of water;
· Micro-irrigation of flower and vegetable gardens or decorative planters is exempt; and
· Car washes are restricted to 57 litres per wash.