Water Restrictions Not Over Yet, Vancouver

August 27th, 2015  |  News

The lower mainland may be facing water restrictions lasting well into fall, says Don Bradley, a spokesperson for Metro Vancouver. Reservoir levels still sit low at 55 percent, he reported, compared to the 60 to 80 percent most commonly seen at this time of year.

After experiencing an unusually hot and dry summer, Metro Vancouver, the agency that sets water restrictions for the region, declared a Stage 3 water restriction for all lower mainland residents. The new status prohibited people from watering their lawns, refilling their pools, and washing their cars.

The restrictions have been a success, keeping Metro Vancouver under the target water usage of 1.2 billion litres a day – compared with 1.7 billion before they took effect. But it’s not quite time to start relaxing the rules yet, says Bradley.

“We need a substantial and sustained amount of rain to get us back consistently in normal reservoir levels for this time of the year,” Mr. Bradley said. “[That’s] far more than is realistically expected based on the forecast, not only for the upcoming weekend, but well beyond that.”

Despite an extensive publicity campaign and social media “drought-shaming” of individual offenders, not everyone is following the rules. Municipalities have given thousands of warnings and issued hundreds of violations, ranging between $200 and $500.

But these residents were still the exception. Marilyn Towill, a division manager with Metro Vancouver, said most people did their part and helped the lower mainland stay on track for water usage.

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