'Every drop counts': Some B.C. water basins already at maximum drought level, officials warn

Low precipitation and historically early snowmelt have already pushed four B.C. water basins into Level 5 drought conditions, officials said Thursday while once again urging residents and businesses to do their part to conserve water.

That is the maximum level on the province's drought classification system, and indicates that adverse effects on local communities and ecosystems are "almost certain."

The four severely drought-impacted basins are located in Fort Nelson, Bulkley Lake, West Vancouver Island and East Vancouver Island, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.

Another 18 of the province's 34 water basins have reached Level 4, meaning adverse effects are "likely."

"These conditions require action from everyone in B.C.," Minister Bowinn Ma said at a news conference. "I'm calling on everyone, including businesses, to follow the water restrictions set by First Nations or local authorities and to take action to conserve water even above and beyond those restrictions."

Officials have suggested that residents water their lawns sparingly, if at all, and limit the amount of time they spend in the shower.

"You can save 19 litres of water for every minute that you reduce a shower," Ma said. "Every drop counts."

Businesses that hold water licences – meaning they take water from streams or aquifers in the province – have also been encouraged to voluntarily reduce their water usage. Officials said they will issue temporary protection orders against licensees under the Water Sustainability Act if necessary.

The B.C. Energy Regulator has already issued and expanded water suspensions for oil and gas operations, Ma said. She also urged those in the agricultural sector to do what they can to avoid wasting water.

"For the farming community, who I know is particularly impacted by drought, right now it's critically important to monitor and manage your water withdrawal from springs and wells," the minister said. "I know that many of you already do this, but now is the time for regular inspections."

While droughts are not uncommon in British Columbia, the level and extent being recorded this early in the season is causing significant alarm among officials, who have been developing contingency plans with local communities and First Nations for months.

One preparation, Ma said, is a reimbursement program that has been set up for areas that require alternative sources of drinking water to be shipped in.

Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist with the River Forecast Centre, blamed the drought, in part, on low levels of rainfall over the last year, noting that the province measured between 40 and 80 per cent of the average precipitation.

The blazing heat recorded in May, which saw temperatures sometimes soaring 10 degrees above average, also led to "the earliest melting of the mountain snowpack that we've seen," Boyd said.

"With less precipitation and a fairly rapid melt – and early melt – we're seeing the response in stream flows, and it's very low," Boyd added.

As of Monday, 81 of the River Forecast Centre's monitoring stations, or approximately one quarter of the stations across the province, were at record lows for this point in the year.

The brutally dry conditions are fueling an alarming wildfire season in B.C. with 345 wildfires currently burning. More than half of them are out of control.

“In the last three days, 109 fires have been caused by lighting and five fires have been caused by human activity,” said Ma, who explained that 1.2 million hectares of land has burned in B.C. since April.

“We are anticipating continued extreme fire behavior,” she said. “We are formally requesting today additional resources from the federal government."

The Gatcho Lake wildfire is burning just a few kilometres from a remote wilderness lodge in the West Chilcoltin. The owners of Elguk Lake Lodge, Aron and Jennifer Toland, continue to sleep on a barge on the lake to stay safe. They are wearing masks because the smoke is so thick in the area.

Their property is under an evacuation order, but so far, the Tolands are not willing to leave as they work to save their resort from burning.