Metro Vancouver might have to further limit water use in June | Daily Hive

You might not be able to wash your car in Metro Vancouver this summer

Danita Delimont/Shutterstock

While it might be raining this week, the Metro Vancouver Regional District is preparing to further restrict water use as it gears up for what’s expected to be a hot summer.

Already, Metro Vancouver officially prohibited residents and businesses from watering their lawns at the beginning of the month — something it typically lets people do once per week most summers.

The region’s snow banks, which are important because they act as water storage during summer months, are much lower than normal this year. And forecasts predict that it will continue to be an unseasonably warm summer, which tends to cause a significant increase in water demand due to increased outdoor water use.

Further, the District is currently building a new water supply tunnel through Stanley Park to replace a water main from the 1930s. To do so, it has had to close down one of the region’s main water supply pipes from the North Shore reservoirs.

“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,” reads a release from Metro Vancouver Regional District.

On average, Metro Vancouver’s demand for water is one billion litres a day. But in the summer months, that increases to 1.5 billion litres. The District said that they can keep the “system resilient” if we “collectively” keep water use under 1.4 billion litres a day.

“Metro Vancouver has one of the highest per-capita water consumption rates in Canada, with plenty of room for every person to introduce more water-wise behaviours in their daily life,” reads the release.

The District said that current and historic water use trends indicate that water use will exceed 1.4 billion litres per day starting in June.

Additionally, the District is closely monitoring water use and will give one week’s notice before moving into Stage 3. It anticipates that Stage 3 might be activated in June.

So, what are Stage 3 watering restrictions?

With Stage 3, residents would be prohibited from washing vehicles and boats, except for key safety features, like windows, lights, mirrors, licence plates, and boat engines.

However, people would still be able to take their car to some commercial car washes, as water-efficient facilities are still allowed to operate during Stage 3.

People would also be prohibited from topping up or filling personal pools and hot tubs.

But public pools and hot tubs, as well as user-activated spray parks, would remain open.

You can see a full list of Metro Vancouver’s water restrictions, from Stage 1 to Stage 4, online.

You might also like: