The majority of the Sunshine Coast Regional District's (SCRD) water customers will be under Stage 2 water restrictions as of July 7.
The SCRD announced on July 4 that the Chapman system, which serves 90 per cent of its water clients, and Keats Island's Eastbourne system will see increased outdoor water use restrictions go to the second or "moderate" level until further notice.
With that change, regional water clients in those areas will join users on the South Pender system, where Stage 2 restrictions, in place since June 9, are continued. SCRD water users on the Egmont, Cove Cay, North Pender Harbour, Langdale, Soames Point and Grantham’s Landing water systems remain at Stage 1 until further notice.
It remains unclear if the SCRD's Church Road/Elphinstone well field will be online before Stage 2 impacts the Chapman system, as committed to in February of this year. On July 4, the regional district's communications department advised Coast Reporter announcements related to that project were anticipated to be released in the coming days.
In the July 4 announcement, regional utility service manager Shane Walkey explained that a combination of forecasted warm and dry weather, no snow remaining in the watershed, and decreasing Chapman Creek flows led to the need to raise the level of conservation regulations. “The dam at Chapman Lake has stopped overflowing and we have started to release water from the lake storage, triggering the need to reduce water demand by the community," he stated.
That document also referred to a June 23 provincial government information bulletin “urging people across British Columbia to conserve water as current forecasts suggest much of the province will experience drought conditions through the summer months.”
Stage 2 Water Rules
- Lawn watering is prohibited.
- Trees, flowers and shrubs can be watered with sprinklers, soaker hoses, or micro-spray between 7 and 9 a.m. on Thursday and Sunday at even-numbered addresses and at odd-numbered addresses on Wednesday and Saturday. On designated watering days, use of a hand-held hose with nozzle, hand-held container or drip-irrigation is allowed from 7 to 9 a.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
- Those same days/times apply to watering food-producing crops with sprinklers, soaker hoses, or micro-spray, but watering with a hand-held hose with nozzle, hand-held container or drip-irrigation can be done anytime.
- Boat and car washing is permitted at both commercial car washes or with the use of a container or hand-held hose with nozzle.
- Washing sidewalks, driveways, fences or exterior building surfaces is permitted to prepare surfaces for painting or paving and as required under health and safety regulations only.
- Filling swimming pools, spas, garden ponds, or fountains is permitted.
In the release, the SCRD advised users with questions on the restrictions to consult its website and noted that complaints regarding water use bylaw violations are to be submitted online using the form available on the site rather than by calling the SCRD offices.
July dates common for Stage 2 common in recent years
The Chapman system moved to Stage 2 water use rules on July 28 last year. Between 2015 and 2023, the over 10,000 customers on that system, located in areas from Halfmoon Bay to West Howe Sound, saw Stage 2 implemented in June on two occasions. During 2018 and 2021, the date that the system moved to Stage 2 July 5. In 2020 that transition happened on July 10. In the remaining three of the nine years since 2015, Stage 2 for Chapman was delayed until late July.
