07/06/2024
A message from our Irrigation Association
The Canadian Prairie Chapter of the Irrigation Association requests the City of Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, and Strathmore to remove outdoor water restrictions. These bans are drastically hurting Irrigation employees.
Employees of irrigation companies have gone 27 days without work as the Outdoor Water Bans have resulted in their jobs being suspended with no work and no hours. Many of our industry employees are in dire need of work. Restore Outdoor Watering as this is a crisis for our employees. Only removing indoor water restrictions does mean the crisis is over.
The City allows other industries to remain open during the worst restrictions and has shut down the irrigation service industry with zero urgency to restore outdoor watering or allow irrigation service companies and their employees to get back to work. This is not an inconvenience; it is the life and death financial situation of irrigation employees and their families.
The City of Calgary dodges all media questions about restoring outdoor watering and does not have a plan they are sharing. This is unacceptable and punitive to an industry which the City has said they don't care about and are unwilling to help with the financial stresses they have caused.
Hear from some employees affected by the ongoing outdoor water ban:
Cam S – I have been working irrigation as a summer job while attending University for the last 4 years. I’m currently in debt with student loans and not being able to work due to the outdoor watering ban has impacted my stress levels. I have been frantically searching for other jobs to make ends meet. I would be grateful for the ban to be lifted so I can get back to work.
Cole J – I’m trying to pay both my student loans and rent which is almost impossible due to water restrictions limiting the amount of work I have. I love working irrigation, but if this continues, I’ll be forced to find another way to scrape by.
Jeff S – Words cannot describe how much stress is involved when you have absolutely no idea when you might be able to work again. Nothing can prepare you for a situation like this. 27 days of not being able to work. 27 days to nearly destroy a team that we have spent over a decade building, training, and watch grow. They are not just a team; they are my family. All the while hoping for the city to take some responsibility and offer help only to hear that there are absolutely no plans to do so. We didn’t do anything wrong, we are just trying to make a living like everyone else. Only to be continually punished every single day with no end in sight.
City of Calgary, come to the table with a clear message of when the outdoor water is being turned back on and let our employees get back to work.
