On Aug. 4, Metro Vancouver moved to Stage 2 watering restrictions, which means that lawn watering is now banned for anyone using municipal water in the regional district –including most Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows residents.
It’s important to emphasize what that does NOT mean – it doesn’t mean you can’t water vegetable gardens, shrubs, flowers, and trees. That’s all still allowed, including limited hours of using a sprinkler.
In fact, watering of vegetable gardens isn’t banned until Stage 4, a stage set aside for a major emergency including a prolonged drought, earthquake, nearby wildfire, or major damage to water pipelines and pumping stations.
Metro Vancouver’s plans for water conservation always draw grumbles from people who want to keep their lawn emerald green all summer long.
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But the grass will recover, and it’s highly unlikely we’ll get to Stage 3, much less Stage 4 restrictions.
But we are using more water. It’s inevitable, given our region’s rapid population growth, that more people are drinking, bathing, and cleaning their dishes and clothes and cars. All that water has to come from somewhere, and with increasingly dry summers, conservation becomes ever-more important.
Fear not for local lawns – we still live in a temperate climate, and for all that weather is unpredictable, it will rain again this fall. And then we’ll have our green lawns back for the next eight months.