BURST
Beginning Thursday, Metro Vancouver households will be able to water trees and landscaping, fill up pools and hot tubs, and wash their vehicles and boats.
That’s because the First Narrows Crossing, which takes drinking water from the North Shore to Vancouver, is back in service, allowing Metro to scale back to Stage 2 water restrictions starting July 16.
“We sincerely thank the residents and businesses who reduced their water use while we completed work to upgrade our water supply system,” said Mike Hurley, chair of Metro Vancouver’s board.
“We are pleased to have this piece of work done on the Stanley Park water supply tunnel project. However, with hot and dry weather in the forecast and no snowpack to help refill the reservoirs, conservation will still be key to helping the water supply last until the fall.”
In Stage 2, lawn watering remains prohibited. But sprinklers and soaker hoses can be trained on landscaping and trees. Pressure washing by commercial operators will be allowed and residents can fill pools and hot tubs and wash their vehicles at home.
Under Stage 3 restrictions since June 8, regional water use has consistently been below a target of 1.4 billion litres a day, spiking once to 1.37 billion litres on one of the hotter days.
The unusually strict restrictions were put in place in late spring as work continued on the Stanley Park tunnel. That work, which began in October, included taking the First Narrows Crossing out of service to build a bypass. It feeds the region from the Capilano and Seymour reservoirs.
“Now that the bypass is complete, the crossing is back online and the Stanley Park water supply tunnel construction can continue for the next several years,” said Metro in a statement on Monday.
The Stanley Park pipeline was built in the 1930s and has exceeded its service life. The new tunnel and water main will meet modern seismic standards, strengthen the resilience of the region’s water system and add capacity as demand grows.
Metro manages the drinking water for over three million residents in its member municipalities and jurisdictions, including dams, treatment facilities, reservoirs, pump stations and water mains.