Vancouver Moves to Stage 3 Water Restrictions to Combat Water Shortage

According to an article from CBC News, Metro Vancouver has moved to Stage 3 water restrictions because of an ongoing water shortage in British Columbia. North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Musatto calls the situation "uncharted territory," noting that the area has never been this dry in its recorded history. Just last week, the province of British Columbia declared a Level 4 drought for the South Coast and Fraser Valley. However, Mayor Musatto still says that people aren't taking these water restrictions seriously enough.

Reservoir levels in Metro Vancouver sit below 73-percent, which is much lower than the normal range for July. Mayor Musatto has stated that the Vancouver region began diverting water from high alpine lakes into the Capilano Reservoir last week, and will do the same for the Seymour Reservoir if necessary. If British Columbia doesn't experience rain in the next week or two, they could be looking at a more serious problem.

So, if you are from the Metro Vancouver area, below is more information about what is banned when Stage 3 water restrictions are in place.

Stage 3 Restrictions

Water restrictions only apply to "treated drinking water," which includes water that comes out of the hose or tap (for a majority of the Metro Vancouver region). Restrictions do not apply to recycled water, collected rain water or "grey water," which refers to household waste water that does not come from a toilet.

When Stage 3 water restrictions are in place, the following uses are banned:

• All lawn sprinkling (residential and non-residential)
• All watering of lawns, trees, shrubs and flowers
• All outdoor washing of automobiles (exception: cleaning lights and windows for safety)
• All refilling of private pools, ponds and spas

For a complete list of water restrictions, check out this helpful chart by clicking here.

At Stage 3, public water parks remain open, as do commercial car washes. In the event that the area moves to Stage 4 water restrictions, all water parks and car washes will shut down. In addition, all hosing and watering will be banned. The last time Stage 4 restrictions were put in place was in 1997, when there was a water main failure south of the Fraser River.