Nearly 900 monetary and warning tickets have been issued for breaking watering restrictions in Vancouver this season, the municipality confirms.
As of Aug. 6, rule-breakers had received 358 fines and 539 warnings. Most of the fines were $250 for breaches of Stage 1 protocols, but at least 14 fines of $500 were issued for Stage 2 violations last week.
No one from the city was available for an interview Wednesday.
Under Stage 2 water restrictions, residents are prohibited from watering their lawns, topping up or filling aesthetic water features, or power-washing driveways and sidewalks, unless it’s for a health and safety reason or to prepare the surface for painting or other treatments.
Commercial cleaning operations are still permitted.
An Aug. 5 video, however, appears to capture a breach of the rules the day after they took effect — showing lawn-watering at 11 p.m. at the Avenue One building by Concord Pacific on Cook Street.
Global News reached out to the property manager for comment but was told the strata agent for the building was currently away on holiday.
In an emailed statement, the City of Vancouver confirmed the video had been forwarded to its bylaw enforcement team.
“Generally, during Stage 1 of watering restrictions, property owners can apply for exemption permits to be able to apply water to new lawns or lawns being treated with nematodes,” the city wrote.
“No more permits are issued once Stage 2 is activated, but existing permits are in effect until they expire and cannot be renewed. Even with the exemptions, lawn watering is only permitted between 4 am and 9 am.”
While it rained in Vancouver on Wednesday, the most recent provincial drought levels available indicate that conditions remain severe in much of B.C. As of Aug. 3 — the day before Vancouver’s Stage 2 restrictions took effect — 28 of 34 B.C. water basins held the two highest classifications of drought, including the Lower Mainland.
Metro Vancouver’s water reservoir levels continue to decrease but remain within the normal range for the time of year, the federation said by email. Wednesday’s rain, it added, wasn’t enough to refresh them.
The dry conditions were noted in a Wednesday warning from Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, which is battling a record-breaking season of fires in the city. Outdoor fires in particular, it noted, have increased 42.3 per cent from the first two quarters of 2022.
Discarded smoking materials — matches, lighters, candles, cigarettes, torches and drug paraphernalia — were responsible for 57 per cent of all blazes this season.
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