Rationing, engineering help Tofino dodge Stage 4 water restrictions amid drought

One of B.C.’s most popular tourist destinations is breathing a sigh of relief, as it stands down from the precipice of extreme water restrictions.

Earlier this month, the District of Tofino warned that water levels in its reservoirs had hit historic lows, and that it may need to implement Stage 4 restrictions.

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Those would have strictly limited water use to drinking and sanitation purposes only, another hurdle in an already bumpy summer tourism season marred by wildfire-related road closures.

In an effort to avoid those restrictions, the district issued a plea to residents and businesses to further cut back on water use.

Those efforts, along with some innovative work by engineers, paid off, with water use falling by more than 20 per cent. On Thursday, the district eased its restrictions downward to Stage 2, rather than upward.

“We’re very grateful for all the work the district did in working with the chamber and Tourism Tofino, everything that all the businesses did, measures they put in place to try and conserve water, all the visitors that were very respectful of those conservation measures,” Tourism Tofino chair Sabrina Donovan told Global News.

“Obviously we were successful.”

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Samantha Hackett, general manager of the Long Beach Lodge Resort, said businesses in the community took the warning seriously.

The lodge expanded on measures like shutting down individual hot tubs with initiatives like not automatically serving water in its restaurants unless asked and reminding guests to take shorter showers and flush less.

“There was so many conversations happening in the background — all of the messaging that maybe seemed extreme, or that there was a situation to be worried about — was trying to be proactive and get out ahead of it,” she said.

“People are very understanding and receptive of receiving the communication.”

Tofino’s water infrastructure was designed decades ago to meet the needs of a much smaller population of residents and visitors.

But the community’s growing reputation as a tourist destination coupled with longer, drier summers have pushed the system to the limits.

As the drought threat rose, district infrastructure manager Simon Kirkland said crews got creative in order to fully tap the potential of the water system, which includes three reservoirs.

“The crews worked some magic,” he said.

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Engineers installed a new bypass valve to divert water from the district’s best performing but hardest to access reservoir as the other two began to fall to critical levels.

“We call it temporary at this time — it is in place right now, and we do have the valve in an open position — because it does provide additional flows,” he said.

“We’re working with an engineering consultant to come up with a more permanent engineered design which we’re going to look to implement over the next few months.”

The move from Sage 3 restrictions — implemented July 10 — down to Stage 2 means that Tofino residents will now be allowed to water outdoor plants by hand every second day, though other outdoor water use remains prohibited.

Despite the improvement, B.C. remain under persistent drought conditions, and the entirety of Vancouver Island remains at Drought Level 5, the province’s most extreme ranking.

Residents and visitors are still being reminded to keep conservation front of mind as they wait for the rainy season.