Residents of Vancouver Island and the Fort Nelson area are being asked to cut back on their water use, as the province declares “Level 3” drought ratings for the regions.
All surface-level water and groundwater users, including residents, industry, farmers and municipalities are asked to voluntarily reduce water use under Level 3 conditions.
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The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development says the measure is needed with more warm weather in the forecast and water levels dropping.
“While some streams on Vancouver Island, especially those backed by storage reservoirs, have adequate flows, several important salmon streams are approaching critical environmental flow thresholds for ecosystems and fish, including juvenile trout and salmon,” said the ministry in a media release.
“Environmental conditions are being closely monitored in case there is a need to implement specific actions to protect salmon and other fish within streams,” it added.
The ministry said if voluntary reductions aren’t enough to slow the decline in water levels, it could take stronger action — including temporarily suspending water licences.
People who draw water from streams are also asked to make sure their intakes are compliant with federal standards to make sure they don’t pull fish in as water levels drop.
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The drought fears come amid a particularly warm and dry spring, with snowpacks near 40-year lows.
The B.C. River Forecast Centre has raised concerns about low snow levels in regions around the province, including the Upper Fraser West, Nechacko, Lower Fraser, East Kootenay, Okanagan, Boundary, Similkameen, South Coast, Vancouver Island and Skeena-Nass.