Metro Vancouver is moving residents into Phase 2 of water restrictions next Friday as the province continues to face continued drought conditions.
In a Friday Bulletin, the regional district said restrictions are needed between continued use of high water and hot, dry weather in the forecast.
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“Use of our treated drinking water remains higher than average, and with hotter weather on the horizon, we are taking this proactive step to ensure our region’s 2.8 million residents have enough drinking water for essential uses for the rest of the dry season,” Metro Vancouver Board chairman George Harvie said in a statement.
The district said that since the beginning of May, water consumption has been about 20 percent higher than in 2022, with residents using more water each day than last year.
Metro Vancouver
Metro Vancouver typically passes about a billion liters of drinking water per day, but that number can increase by as much as 50 percent in the summer months, according to the Regional District.
“Sustained above-average temperatures combined with high water demand have put additional pressure on the water supply,” said Malcolm Brodie, Chairman of the Metro Vancouver Water Committee.
“Water conservation is essential and everyone has to do their part. The number one thing residents can do is reduce their outdoor water use.”
Phase 2 water restrictions, which take effect August. 4, Prohibition of irrigation of lawns, washing of impervious surfaces such as roads and filling of aesthetic features of water such as springs.
Residents can water trees, shrubs and flowers by hand either using soaker casings or drip irrigation at any time, or using a sprinkler between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.
Watering is allowed at any time.
Non-residential properties are subject to similar restrictions on lawn and garden watering, washing of impervious surfaces and filling of aesthetic characteristics of water.
A spokesperson for the city of Vancouver said the city “will comply with Phase 2 restrictions through August. 4 deadline.”
The city council and park board voted this spring to reactivate civic Springs, through an exemption from the city’s water law. The springs are not capable of recycling water, and each of them wastes up to a million liters of water a year, according to Green Park Commissioner Tom Digby.
The spokesman could not confirm what specific actions the city would take regarding those sources or other features of city-owned water, saying “since the restrictions were only announced today, staff are setting out operational details as we speak.”
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People who violate the restrictions can be subject to a $ 500 fine.
The last time Metro Vancouver moved beyond Phase 1 water restrictions was in 2015, as the region faced a historic drought.
The move comes a day after provincial officials urged every British Columbia to conserve water, with 23 of the 34 B water basins. C. now at Level 4 or Level 5 on the province’s five-level drought scale.
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