The City of Victoria is installing 13 misting stations across the city to beat the heat.
Four had already been installed by Monday, with more on the way, city spokesperson Colleen Mycroft said in a statement.
This year’s misting stations are an improvement on the previous iteration, which were made of plastic and bolted onto fire hydrants as part of the city’s extreme heat response plan.
The new stations are solid aluminum, stand close to six feet tall, and have taps for filling water bottles. A press of a button dispenses a cooling water mist.
The new stations are funded in part through a $65,000 grant from the Union of B.C. Municipalities to build public cooling infrastructure, said Mycroft.
Designs were inspired by misting equipment currently used in Vancouver, said emergency program co-ordinator Tanya Seal-Jones.
In the event of a heat warning or an extreme heat emergency response this summer, the city will also have staff distributing free spray bottles, water bottles, electrolytes and sunscreen at the Cook Street Village Activity Centre and James Bay United Church, Mycroft said.
The city developed its extreme heat response plan last year in the wake of historically high summer temperatures during B.C.’s heat dome in June of 2021.
There were 20 heat-related deaths in Victoria between June 25 and July 1 of 2021, according to statistics released by the B.C. Coroners Service.
