Global BC
Vancouver’s Stage 2 water restrictions took effect Friday, with multiple water basins surrounding the Lower Mainland experiencing extreme drought conditions.
Under the new rules, residents can’t water their lawns, top up or fill aesthetic water features, or power-wash their 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. …
Metro Vancouver’s drinking water reservoir remains within normal range for now. Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, chair of Metro Vancouver’s water committee, urged people to follow the rules so it stays that way.
“If you don’t water your lawn, the grass will turn brown but it won’t die,” he said Friday. “We’ve had the hot and dry weather now for a few months, and we’ve seen that in Metro Vancouver, for some reason the water usage per capita is 20-per-cent higher this year than it has been in the past.
“Just to make sure we get through to the fall, when we can count on cooler temperatures and more rain … don’t water your lawn. Frankly, I don’t think that’s too big of a sacrifice for anybody to make.” …