Water Conservation

Stage 1 Water Use Restrictions are in place

This year Metro Vancouver imposed
Stage 2 water restrictions on May 1st and
jumped to Stage 3 on June 8th
as a result of a water tunnel construction effort.
Restrictions were relaxed back
to Stage 2 on July 16th
and then back to Stage 1 on September 1st.

As the graphic above shows, you can water your lawn once a week:

  • Even-numbered addresses: Saturday
  • Odd-numbered addresses: Sunday

In either case, automatic sprinklers are allowed on your watering day between
5 and 7 am, while manual watering is allowed between 6 and 9 am.

All water restrictions on a chart.

Full restriction details from Metro Vancouver.

While our area gets quite a bit of rainfall overall, the summer months see much less precipitation. In addition, water consumption goes way up at the same time, mostly for watering lawns. This combination causes reservoir levels to drop and make it necessary to introduce water conservation rules in the summer.

Water restrictions are introduced in four stages.

  • Stage 1 is generally in effect from May 1 to October 15 every year. It reduces lawn watering to once a week, among other things.
  • Stage 2 is imposed only if reservoir levels and inflows drop far enough to require them. It eliminates lawn watering entirely.
  • Stage 3 and 4 restrictions are imposed only if conditions are even worse.

Lawn watering is a huge part of the increased water use that happens in the summer months. Conservation helps keep water available for other uses and reduces the need for additional – and expensive – infrastructure projects that would increase supply. Landscaping that reduces or eliminates lawns can save substantial water.

Additional water conservation information: