Metro Vancouver is moving residents up to Stage 2 water restrictions next Friday as the province continues to grapple with persistent drought conditions.
In a Friday bulletin, the regional district said the restrictions are necessary amid continued high water usage and hot, dry weather in the forecast.
“Use of our treated drinking water remains higher than average, and with more hot weather on the horizon, we are taking this proactive step to ensure that our region’s 2.8 million residents will have enough drinking water for essential uses for the rest of the dry season,” said Metro Vancouver Board Chair George Harvie in a statement.
The district said that since the start of May, water consumption has been about 20 per cent higher than in 2022, with residents using more water every single day than last year.
Metro Vancouverites typically go through about one billion litres of drinking water per day, but that number can climb by up to 50 per cent in summer months, according to the regional district.
“Consistent above-average temperatures combined with high water demand have put extra pressure on the water supply,” said Malcolm Brodie, Metro Vancouver water committee chair.
“Water conservation is imperative, and everyone must do their part. The number one thing residents can do is reduce their outdoor water use.”
Stage 2 water restrictions, which take effect Aug. 4, ban watering lawns, washing impermeable surfaces like driveways, and filling aesthetic water features such as fountains.
Residents can water trees, shrubs and flowers by hand or using soaker hoses or drip irrigation at any time, or using a sprinkler between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.
Watering vegetables remains permitted at any time.
Non-residential properties are subject to similar restrictions on lawn and garden watering, washing impermeable surfaces and filling aesthetic water features.
A spokesperson for the City of Vancouver said the city “will be complying with Stage 2 restrictions by the Aug. 4 deadline.”
The city’s council and park board voted this spring to reactivate civic fountains, through an exemption to the city’s water bylaw. The fountains aren’t capable of recirculating water, and which each waste up to a million litres of water per year, according to Green Park Commissioner Tom Digby.
The spokesperson could not confirm what specific actions the city would be taking regarding those fountains or other city-owned water features, saying “as the restrictions were only announced today, staff are determining operational details as we speak.”
People who violate the restrictions could be subject to a fine of $500.
The last time Metro Vancouver moved beyond Stage 1 water restrictions was in 2015, as the region faced a historic drought.
The move comes a day after provincial officials urged every British Columbian to conserve water, with 23 of B.C.’s 34 water basins now at Level 4 or Level 5 on the province’s five-level drought scale.