CRD asks Gulf Islands residents and visitors to decrease their water use
B.C.'s Capital Regional District is asking residents and visitors alike to reduce water use in the Southern Gulf Islands amid the serious drought conditions currently parching the province.
In an alert posted on its website earlier this week and updated on Friday, the CRD says it "appreciates the efforts" that have been made to conserve water on the islands so far.
"However, due to the current high level of sustained drought in the region, the CRD is requesting that residents and visitors to these islands increase their efforts to conserve water," the alert reads.
The CRD says drinking-water systems on the islands are "especially vulnerable" to drought, adding that the levels in most of the islands' water supply sources are already low, and little to no rain is in the forecast to replenish them.
"In an effort to preserve an adequate drinking water supply, all residents and visitors to Salt Spring Island and the Southern Gulf Islands are encouraged to decrease their indoor water use where possible and stop all outdoor water use with some limited exceptions," the district says.
The exceptions for outdoor water use include limited hand-watering of trees, shrubs and vegetables.
The CRD asks people to refrain from watering lawns, turf or boulevards and avoid using motion-activated sprinklers to deter wildlife. It also asks people not to wash outdoor surfaces - such as driveways, sidewalks and decks - nor to wash vehicles or boats.
"In addition to these guidelines, a number of CRD-owned water systems are currently under elevated water conservation restrictions," the district says.
It recommends those who are connected to CRD-owned systems check the district's website for details specific to their local areas.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.