Rainfall on the weekend has taken some pressure off the Pembina Valley Water Co-op's treatment plant in Letellier.

Hot, dry conditions last week and the onset of spraying season created a situation where demand for water was outstripping supply at the Letellier plant.

Rain amounts varied from a half-inch to an inch in the valley, helping to replenish the reservoir at the Letellier plant.

"We received about an inch of rain at Letellier, but it watered people's lawns and gardens, brought the temperature down and reduced the stress on the system," said Jake Fehr, PVWC's chief system engineer.

Last week the Water Co-op urged its users in the RM of Montcalm, Municipality of Rhineland, RM of Stanley, Winkler, Altona and Emerson-Franklin municipality to conserve water as much as possible. That request has now been lifted thanks to the rain.

Fehr says ratepayers in those areas heeded their call quickly and made a big difference.

"We had approximately 30 per cent less water going out in certain circumstances. We just want to say 'thank you' to all those users."

The PVWC has been looking at expanding the Letellier plant in the future to better accommodate demand in the area. Such a project, however, comes with a price tag in the multi-millions of dollars.