Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. residents urged to conserve water as worsening drought conditions parch province

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Jul, 2023 05:17 PM
  • B.C. residents urged to conserve water as worsening drought conditions parch province

British Columbia residents are being asked to do their part to conserve water as drought conditions parch the province.

Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma called on residents, farmers, businesspeople and industrial plant operators to take urgent steps to cut water use.

She highlighted a report from B.C.'s River Forecast Centre that said the combination of record heat in May followed by early snow melt and persistently low levels of precipitation have created historic drought conditions across the province.

"Water is a precious resource and we are fortunate to have some of the best water in the world," Ma said at a news conference. "Every drop counts and that's why everyone needs to do their part."

The report by hydrologist Jonathan Boyd said most of B.C. has received rainfall over the past year between 40 per cent and 85 per cent of annual average precipitation.

It said stream flows measured this week at some rivers on Vancouver Island and in northwestern B.C. are at the highest drought category, Level 5, while other major rivers in the Interior and Kootenays are getting close.

Shuswap Lake at Salmon Arm is currently recording water levels not historically seen until the fall and winter, said the report.

Four B.C. regions, the northeast, Bulkley Lakes and east and west Vancouver Island are currently at drought Level 5, with much of the rest of the province at Level 4, said the report.

At Level 5, conditions are exceptionally dry and all efforts should be made to conserve water and protect critical environmental flows.

Among the conservation measures Ma urged residents to consider were watering lawns sparingly, taking shorter showers and only doing full loads of laundry.

"You can save 19 litres of water for every minute of reduced shower time," said Ma. "Every load of laundry uses up to 190 litres of water. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving."

She said she has yet to consider introducing provincewide water restrictions, but some communities have already taken that measure.

Ma said she would meet Thursday with community and First Nations leaders about tackling the drought as the summer progresses.

"Unfortunately, with the climate crisis the changing climate is creating changing conditions here in B.C.," she said. "The situation is severe. We need people to turn their minds to a conservation mindset now."

Premier David Eby and Ma have both said the situation is serious and much of B.C. has never before experienced the current levels of drought this early in the summer.

MORE National ARTICLES

Union and employers receive mediator's terms to end B.C. port strike, source says

Union and employers receive mediator's terms to end B.C. port strike, source says
The delivery of the terms comes after federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan late Tuesday instructed the mediator to send him the terms within 24 hours so he could forward them to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association.

Union and employers receive mediator's terms to end B.C. port strike, source says

Four years after passage of law on abandoned boats, only two fines have been levied

Four years after passage of law on abandoned boats, only two fines have been levied
The government introduced the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act in 2017. It passed in February 2019 and took effect that July. It made it illegal to abandon a boat in Canada and gives the government the power to go after boat owners when their vessels are wrecked or left behind, including fines up to $1 million.

Four years after passage of law on abandoned boats, only two fines have been levied

High speed chase on Surrey's Hwy 99

High speed chase on Surrey's Hwy 99
Police say it started just after nine last night when the driver of the C-L-S-550 fled the traffic stop, and the vehicle was located a short time later on Highway 99 south of the Serpentine River overpass. The investigation closed the highway for hours, but traffic is now moving again.   

High speed chase on Surrey's Hwy 99

Zelenskyy declares NATO summit victory for Ukraine as Canada, allies pledge more help

Zelenskyy declares NATO summit victory for Ukraine as Canada, allies pledge more help
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other NATO leaders wrapped up their two-day summit Wednesday, they bid farewell to a very different version of Volodymyr Zelenskyy than the one they had met the day before. Ukraine's president declared the meetings a success, even though he left without the thing he had most vehemently argued for: a quick invitation for his country to join the alliance.

Zelenskyy declares NATO summit victory for Ukraine as Canada, allies pledge more help

More evacuations, alerts, reflect difficult wildfire season in B.C., Yukon

More evacuations, alerts, reflect difficult wildfire season in B.C., Yukon
At least 12 new evacuation orders or alerts have been issued over the last day in British Columbia as lightning storms and drought conditions add to the challenge of fighting hundreds of wildfires. The BC Wildfire Service says just over two-thirds of the province's roughly 330 fires are raging in those two centres.

More evacuations, alerts, reflect difficult wildfire season in B.C., Yukon

U.S. hiker dies after falling from popular B.C. hiking trail near Whistler

U.S. hiker dies after falling from popular B.C. hiking trail near Whistler
Sea to Sky officers as well as RCMP Air Services, BC Ambulance paramedics and Whistler Search and Rescue responded to a report that a woman had fallen off the Black Tusk chimney portion of Garibaldi Provincial Park on Monday and was seriously injured.  

U.S. hiker dies after falling from popular B.C. hiking trail near Whistler