'The worst that it has ever been': Concern mounting as severe drought conditions persist in parts of B.C.
The situation is dire. That is how the drought conditions on the B.C.'s Sunshine Coast are being described.
The water supply for about 20,000 residents is so low, there is only enough water to last until early November.
“This is the worst that it has ever been” said Remko Rosenboom, the general manager of infrastracture services for the regional district
“It’s now over 90 days since we had a good amount of rain here,” he explained.
This week, the district used a helicopter to bring in a syphon system to draw water from a lake after water levels dropped to unprecedented lows.
“Because it is pretty serious, we have activated an emergency operations centre to coordinate our efforts,” Rosenboom explained.
He said the district may have to truck water from further up the coast or the Lower Mainland which he described as a "logistically, technically and financially very cumbersome exercise.”
Other parts of the province are also seeing concerning conditions.
Earlier this week, disturbing video emerged near Bella Bella. A social media post showed thousands of dead salmon at the bottom of a creek.
"We’re feeling the impacts of climate change all around us in B.C.,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Lands, Water and Resource Stewardship said in a statement.
“This is a highly unusual situation caused by recent drought conditions and it is very concerning to see the impact of drought conditions on wild salmon.”
In its statement, the Ministry of Forests said several areas in the province are being impacted, including the east and west Vancouver Island basins.
“At Drought Level 4, conditions are extremely dry and adverse effects to socio-economic or ecosystem values are likely,” the ministry said.
On the Sunshine Coast, residents are under Stage 4 water restrictions, meaning water can’t be used at all outside -- not even for washing cars or watering gardens.
The restrictions could tighten even further if the situation doesn’t improve. The hope in the area is for rain which is not in the forecast.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.