Effective Friday, Aug. 17, the District of Tofino will be under Stage 2 water restrictions until further notice.
Under Stage 2 water restrictions, filling or refilling of hot tubs is prohibited. Outdoor watering of lawns, gardens, trees and landscaped areas is prohibited except for the watering of food plants by hand-held hose with an automatic shut-off mechanism or hand-held canister.
Odd numbered civic addresses may water on Monday and Thursday between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Even numbered civic addresses may water on Tuesday and Friday between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
All other outdoor use of water is prohibited except to the minimum extent to remove salt water and provide basic hygienic cleaning.
The penalty for side-stepping Tofino’s Stage 2 water restrictions is a $200 fine.
“We’ve been in communication with our bylaw department with how this should be enforced. It isn’t really pro-active in the sense we’re not really going and watching people watering their lawns. It is complaint driven,” said Tofino’s manager of corporate service Elyse Goatcher-Bergmann.
The District of Ucluelet issued a water conservation notice on Aug. 9 asking for community support in maintaining the local water supply by voluntarily conserving water.
As a pro-active approach, the District of Ucluelet is asking visitors and residents to conserve water whenever possible to limit the level of water restrictions this year, reads the community notice.
On Aug. 14, the Province of B.C. elevated East Vancouver Island drought rating to Level 4. West Vancouver Island remains at Level 3 drought rating.
A map of the affected areas is available online: http://ow.ly/BY7z30lpdi0
A number of streams on Vancouver Island are at or near record-low flows for this time of the year, notes the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations press release. These include, but are not limited to, the Koksilah, Chemainus, San Juan and Salmon rivers. Recent precipitation has been insufficient to halt the downward trend on all of the East Vancouver Island streams. Maximum water conservation is encouraged in these and other low-flow watersheds.
Here are some water conservation tips:
- Limit outdoor watering
- Do not water during the heat of the day or when it is windy
- Consider planting drought-tolerant vegetation
- Take shorter showers
- Do not leave the tap running (e.g. while brushing teeth)
- Switch to alternative sources of water (e.g. stored water, if available)
- Install water-efficient showerheads, taps and toilets
