Since moving to Stage 2 Water Restrictions on June 16, 2023, we've seen some positive developments in our water management. Reservoir levels have stabilized during the week, consistently staying above 60% during the high-demand period from 12AM to 6AM. This ensures sufficient fire storage if the need arises.
However, our community's water demand is still a concern. We're far exceeding the national average of 411 liters per person/day, reaching 3,000 liters per person/day during the summer months. The only time we come close to the national average is January.
The majority of the community’s water demand (between April and October) is contributed to irrigation as we have not seen the increase in sanitary sewer flows as illustrated in the graph below.
As shown on the following graph, the move to Stage 2 Water Restrictions has been helpful, but we're facing challenges on the two permitted days, Saturday and Sunday as the demand is still causing reservoir levels to drop below 50%.
It's important to realize that Canadians rank second only to the United States in terms of highest per capita water use in the developed world. A “general lack of awareness” about the pressures placed on Canadian water supplies, combined with a “lack of strong water conservation ethic, which is encouraged by the myth of water abundance” helps to explain this poor standing. Source: Dan Shrubsole and Dianne Draper “On Guard for Thee? Water (Ab)uses and Management in Canada” in Eau Canada, Ed. Karen Bakker, UBC Press: 2007.
To help with our water demand concerns, the Town has reduced our watering days in all parks and green spaces fed by the domestic system and will be looking at options to get more parks and green spaces off the domestic water system in the coming years.