TAPPED OUT
As supplies dry up, some island residents haul in water while Metro Vancouver bans lawn sprinkling and car washing
Metro Vancouver has imposed Stage 3 water restrictions, effective Tuesday, after concluding over a hot, dry weekend that not enough water is being conserved and reservoir levels are at record lows.
The restrictions, which include a ban on all lawn sprinkling, came despite metro indicating last week that it appeared there was no urgent need to bring in the tougher restrictions.
“We looked at our reservoir levels and we looked at consumptions,” North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto, chairman of metro’s utilities committee, said Monday in explaining the need for Stage 3 restrictions for the first time since 2003.
“What we’re finding is that reservoir levels are at all-time lows for this time of year (and) the consumption didn’t come down as we’d hoped.”
Mussatto noted there’s a chance metro could eventually go to the highest Stage 4 restriction, although that’s unlikely if people get serious about restricting water usage and if the reservoirs begin filling up again.
Metro chief administrative officer Carol Mason said the third stage of the four-stage plan was deemed necessary to prevent any potential future water shortages.
“We have implemented Stage 3 wateruse restrictions to help ensure that we have the necessary supply of water through the early fall for use in our homes and businesses and for critical community needs such as fire suppression,” she said.
In addition to a prohibition on lawn sprinkling, metro municipalities will not issue lawn-sprinkling exemption permits and municipal parks, ornamental lawns and grassed boulevards will not be watered. Residential pools, hot tubs and garden ponds can no longer be refilled and personal outdoor vehicle and boat washing isn’t allowed.
However, commercial car washes remain open because they use recycled water.
Metro chairman Greg Moore said the district’s three water reservoirs are at 69-per-cent capacity, down from the 74-per-cent level last week.
He said 2.4 million residents were using 1.35 billion litres of water daily.
“We need to reduce the amount of water that we consume to 1.2 billion litres of water a day,” Moore said.
If that goal is met, Moore said, area residents should be able to get by with the current water supply until October with little to no rain.
Restrictions don’t apply to rainwater, grey water or recycled water, and boulevard trees can still be watered, but only if done by hand using a spring-loaded shut-off nozzle or containers or drip irrigation. Use of sprinklers or soaker hoses is prohibited.
The City of Vancouver will still be watering boulevard trees to ensure their survival and residents are being asked to help out where appropriate.