Metro Vancouverites urged to conserve depleting drinking water supply

NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. -

There’s more fallout from the unseasonably warm and dry weather that’s been gripping B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

Metro Vancouver is asking residents and businesses to cut back on how much water they use amid ongoing drought conditions.

Officials are keeping a close eye on the region's three water supplies, the Capilano, Seymour, and Coquitlam reservoirs.

Together, they supply 2.7 million residents with clean drinking water.

However, the reservoir levels are lower than they typically are for this time of year, so people living and working in the region are being urged to reduce how much they use.

“It’s just thinking about whether it’s time to put the sprinklers away and turn those off because lawns are dormant anyway at this time of year. They will last through the (extended) dry weather that we have ahead of us,” said Marilyn Towill, general manager for water services for Metro Vancouver.

Shutting off the taps when brushing your teeth, taking shorter showers, and only using dishwashers and laundry machines when they’re full will help reduce waste.

The region’s water use is currently 20 per cent higher than normal for this time of year.

On top of that, watershed areas have only seen about 50 millimetres of rain since the beginning of August. They usually see eight times that.

Nine rivers across the province are experiencing historic lows, including the Chilliwack River.

The soil has been so dry for so long, it will likely be resistant to the rain when it finally comes.

“The fact that the land is less absorbent, which does put us at a higher risk for flash flooding and floods,” said Ashlee Jollymore, a hydrologist from the B.C River Forecast Centre.

She says sudden or prolonged storms could create major problems.

Environment Canada says the Lower Mainland is still under a very persistent ridge of high pressure.

It predicts that's going to last through the weekend and into next week.

Temperatures in inland sections of the Lower Mainland could reach into the mid 20s.

“There is some hint that towards the latter half of next week, and into next weekend potential for rain may come back into the forecast. It's still a little far away to be very certain,” said Alyssa Charbonneau, a meteorologist for Environment Canada.

Daily temperature records continue to be broken across the province and that trend is expected to continue this weekend.