Kelowna residents can now use their smartphones to report problems such graffiti, potholes, and dead animals in their city.

The city launched the smartphone application — which allows people to take photos of hazards like icy sidewalks and fallen trees, then send a report to the appropriate department for service — on Wednesday.

"You know the picture being worth a thousand words, this puts huge information in your hands to be able to deal with the issues for sure," said Clint McKenzie, a performance improvement consultant for the city.

People in Kelowna can now report requests for service through their smart phones (Contributed by: City of Kelowna)

Users can inform the city of about 40 different issues ranging from broken parking meters to dead animals, and the idea is catching on in municipalities across B.C.

The City of Vancouver is looking into developing a similar application, while residents of Kamloops and Surrey are already using a similar app.

"The two features that municipalities are tapping into is the ability to use that 'my location' from the device to let the city know where you are, where the problem is at the time you experience it, and then the photo attachment. Those two things alone put huge information in your hands to be able to deal with the issue."

The app can be downloaded for free through the City of Kelowna website.

With files from the CBC's Brady Strachan