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Metro Vancouver should prepare to move to Stage 3 water restrictions in June

Click to play video: 'Metro Vancouver warns early summer water restrictions possible'
Metro Vancouver warns early summer water restrictions possible
WATCH: Water restrictions could come sooner than usual this year. Metro Vancouver says a low snowpack and below-average rainfall are causes for concern. As Catherine Urquhart reports, it comes as a major infrastructure upgrade is adding strain to the system – Mar 27, 2026

Metro Vancouver residents should prepare to move to Stage 3 restrictions sometime in June as the warm and dry weather continues.

Metro Vancouver is already under Stage 2 water restrictions, but residents are being warned that Stage 3 will begin in June.

Residents will receive one week’s notice before a move to Stage 3, when there are additional restrictions on watering trees and gardens, filling pools and hot tubs and washing surfaces, vehicles and boats.

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The move to Stage 3 is tied to a new water supply tunnel through Stanley Park, which will replace an existing water main.

Metro Vancouver says that to facilitate construction, the First Narrows Crossing, one of the region’s key supply pipes from the reservoirs on the North Shore, has been out of service since last fall.

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If water use increases excessively while the crossing is offline, it could decrease water pressure and affect the ability of first responders to use water for emergencies, Metro Vancouver explained.

The goal is not to bring in Stage 3 unless “absolutely necessary,” Metro Vancouver said, but residents and businesses should be prepared.

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