VANCOUVER — Lawn watering restrictions are now in effect across Metro Vancouver despite a soggy spring.
The regional district says the restrictions are aimed at conserving drinking water during the driest part of the year and will remain in effect until Oct. 15.
Residential lawn watering is permitted three days per week, with even-numbered addresses watering on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m., and odd-numbered addresses watering Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday over the same five-hour period.
Lawn watering is the first stage of what could be escalating restrictions under Metro Vancouver's plan to deal with possible water shortages.
The plan was reviewed after a severe drought in 2015, and a release from the regional district says proposed changes are currently being considered for the spring of 2018.
City of North Vancouver Mayor and Metro Vancouver Utilities Committee chairman Darrell Mussatto says a wetter-than-average spring is not an excuse to waste water and that early watering restrictions are a way to conserve the resource.
"These regulations are in place to help residents develop long-term habits for drier years," he says.
Lawn watering outside the designated periods is regulated separately by each of Metro Vancouver's 24 local authorities, but violators in Vancouver could face fines of up to $250.
