“We need a substantial and sustained amount of rain to get us back consistently in normal reservoir levels for this time of the year,” Don Bradley told Globe and Mail reporter Kate Sientuc on Thursday. “Far more than is realistically expected based on the forecast, not only for the upcoming weekend, but well beyond that.”
So for the foreseeable future Metro Vancouver is likely to continue with Stage 3 water restrictions. The restrictions prohibit refilling swimming pools, washing cars or watering lawns. The desired effect is to lower the daily usage average of the area’s water reservoirs.
Bradley said the restrictions are doing just that, with the daily average now below 1.2 billion litres, well down from the 1.7 billion litres that were being used daily prior to the restrictions coming into effect. Bringing usage down to that level, Bradley said, could conceivably allow the Metro Vancouver area, even were there to be no rain for the next two months, to have enough water into November.
Their hope is for more rain than the downpour expected this weekend. The more rain to replenish the reservoirs the sooner the Stage 3 water restrictions can be lifted. Bradley said the area’s reservoirs are at around 55 percent of their maximum capacities. Normal for this time of year? From 60 percent capacity all the way up to 80 percent.
There is, incidentally, flexibility in Stage 3 restrictions with regard watering. The Metro Vancouver website notes that “you can water trees, shrubs, flowers, decorative planters and vegetable gardens using a hand-held spring-loaded shutoff nozzle, containers or a drip irrigation system.”
Breaking the water restrictions can result in anything from a warning to a fine worth 200 to 500 dollars. Metro Vancouver said thousands of warnings and hundreds of fines have been issued. For example, Vancouver alone has issued 217 fines, Surrey 143.