BC Urges Residents to Conserve Water Amid Drought

The Murtle Lake wildfire located within Wells Gray Provincial Park is shown in this handout photo provided by the BC Wildfire Service, June 9, 2023. (The Canadian Press/HO-BC Wildfire Service)

The B.C. government has called on residents to conserve water as officials continue to monitor drought conditions in the province.

“Consider taking shorter showers. Only do full loads of dishes and laundry. Water your lawn sparingly,” said Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma at a press conference on July 10 where she announced the expansion of the campfire ban in most of B.C. in response to ongoing wildfires.

The minister also warned water restrictions could soon be underway as half of the 34 water basins that make up the province are currently experiencing Level 4 drought conditions with Level 5 being the most severe.

“The drought situation is serious,” she said. “We have not experienced this level of widespread drought across the province this early in the year in recent memory.”

According to the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, drought conditions have worsened due to “lower levels of rain and other precipitation over the past year.”

The department said that should conservation measures not achieve the desired results and the drought situation worsens, the provincial government may issue temporary protection orders against water licensees under the Water Sustainability Act.

The move will ensure B.C. communities continue to have access to drinking water and “avoid significant or irreversible harm to aquatic ecosystems,” the ministry said in a news release on July 10.

‘Pay Attention’

Ms. Ma said many communities are already implementing water restrictions, but her government foresees the need to “escalate those water restrictions in larger areas of the province.”

Main areas of concern at this time are the northeastern corner of B.C. as well as the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, she added. “We’re reaching out to communities to begin discussing more measures.”

The minister urged residents to not only abide by local community restrictions but to also do their part to use less water.

“Water reduction practices [are] absolutely necessary,” she said. “We need people to pay attention.”

At the same press conference, Ms. Ma also declared a state of emergency for the Stikine Region in the province’s northwest.

While discussing the severity of the wildfires, the minister said 115 new fires were sparked by dry lightning over the weekend, with 311 fires burning across the province.

She added 156 people are under evacuation orders across B.C. and that 629 are under evacuation alert to leave their homes at short notice in the northwest, northeast, and the Cariboo region in the Interior.

“Things have certainly escalated very drastically in a large part of the province over the weekend,” she said.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.