Plumber in Picture Butte

Picture Butte at a glance

Picture Butte is a town 27 km north of Lethbridge. It claims the title "Livestock Feeding Capital of Canada" and became a town in 1961, when it had 978 people.

What that means for your plumbing

Homes in town sit alongside farms and feedlots on the surrounding land. Farm properties often have outbuildings, stock waterers and long buried lines, all of which need protecting from frost. If a yard line leaks, see leak detection.

Irrigation country

Settlement took off after the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation System was built in 1923 and the CPR line arrived in 1925. Irrigated land and nearby reservoirs can mean a higher water table, so basements near low ground deserve a check every spring.

The butte that disappeared

Picture Butte is named for a prominence southeast of town; the name is said to translate a Blackfoot phrase for "the beautiful hill". By 1947 the hill's soil had been used for streets, highway work and a dyke on the Picture Butte Lake Reservoir, so the butte itself no longer exists. The Canadian Sugar Factory closed in 1978, and the town now has an art gallery, three schools, a sports complex and a museum. Homes built across these decades may have pipe from several eras. If yours has low pressure or rusty water, have the supply lines checked.